The Latin American Report # 380

Haiti: too bad things happening there

The last thing Haiti needed was the scandal following the leak of French President Emmanuel Macron's off-the-record remarks—during the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro—calling the members of the disputed presidential transitional council “total morons”, particularly for having dismissed former Prime Minister Gary Conille. The ad hoc body, which assumed power—a very fragile one indeed—this year blessed by a diplomatic effort involving the UN, CARICOM, and Western powers such as the United States and France itself, has come under heavy criticism as it has fallen into the same old traps: corruption and cross-political skirmishes among its members. In the context of the change of command, to top it off, a new escalation has been unleashed in the insecurity crisis that has the country like a soul in pain, dragging the remains of the failed attempt to build a society.

Macron "[insulted an entire nation] living through dark times,” denounced a former president of the council, which faces gigantic and sometimes seemingly impossible challenges, between combating insecurity and calling for new general elections after a democratic drought already too long after the assassination in July 2021 of then president Jovenel Moïse. “They're total morons,” Macron was caught saying, referring to the council. “They never should have dismissed [Conille].” A powerful gang syndicate has called on the council to cease its exercise of power.

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The gangs and the people

Children are now believed to make up between 30% and 50% of all manpower attributable to gangs, “a very concerning trend” according to UNICEF's representative in Haiti, whose capital would now only have between 10% and 15% of its territory free from the de facto control of illegal armed groups. It would seem that serving as informants is the main function for which the boys are employed, but the UN official told the AP that “some are given weapons and forced to participate in attacks”. “Even when they are armed with weapons, the child here is the victim,” he added. In the case of girls, they are relegated to cooking, cleaning, or even acting as the gang members' wives.

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A Human Rights Watch report focused on the helplessness to which nearly 4,000 victims of sexual violence among women and girls are exposed this year. For example, many victims are unable to access emergency treatment for potential sexually transmitted infections or to prevent conception because they either do not have the resources to pay for the service at private clinics or find that the public system has been shut down by the violence. Only a quarter of the health facilities in the capital's metropolitan area are operational. A feminist organization reports having received more than 200 complaints of rapes in two neighborhoods on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. “Now they do whatever they want to all of us,” said a woman who was raped by four men while fetching water, and who could not receive treatment because she didn't have enough—or any—money. What this victim raises also highlights the fact that the justice system is “on pause.”

And this is all for our report today. I have referenced the sources dynamically in the text, and remember you can learn how and where to follow the LATAM trail news by reading my work here. Have a nice day.