Tag: Jacqueline Charles

Browse our exclusive articles!

Rubio calls Haiti’s prime minister after stern U.S. warning against ousting him

Members of the council have been accused of targeting the prime minister in order to keep their grip on power and remain in the transitional posts after Feb. 7. On Friday, council members Leslie Voltaire, who has been accused of leading the push, and Edgard Leblanc Fils spoke at a joint press conference declaring they have the right to replace the prime minister and want to ensure the country doesn’t fall into chaos after Feb. 7. The two men, however, also gave contradictory messages about the process, with Voltaire talking about “a pause to allow political parties and civil society groups to meet” and seek what he described as an acceptable governance arrangement, and Leblanc saying that the resolution firing Fils-Aimé “is ready” to be sent to the National Press for printing.

Haiti faces political showdown as ruling council seeks to oust prime minister

Haitians woke up Thursday under a cloud of uncertainty as the country’s fragile political transition descended into open confrontation, with the sides locked in a standoff and neither appearing willing to back down. With just days remaining until its mandate ends, Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council is seeking to remove Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé from office. Such a move would create a dangerous political vacuum—one the United States and other international partners are anxious to avoid—and could open the door to renewed instability at a moment Haiti’s security forces have begun to make measurable gains against armed gangs.

Haiti’s Sunrise Airways suspends domestic flights after bullet hits aircraft

A domestic flight was struck by bullets on Sunday while landing at the Guy Malary terminal of the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, sources told the Miami Herald. The aircraft, operated by Sunrise Airways, was arriving from Les Cayes in the country’s southwest region. No injuries were reported.

Haiti police seize high-powered ‘weapon of war,’ kill several gang members

Several alleged gang members were killed in Haiti on Friday during intensified security operations in the eastern plains of Port-au-Prince, where police successfully recovered a high-powered sniper rifle known as a “weapon of war” but were forced to destroy a helicopter used in their operations.

Haiti gangs have slowed attacks in the capital, but they have intensified elsewhere

Gang violence continues to be responsible for hundreds of deaths and injuries in Haiti, where attacks by criminal groups have slowed in recent months in the capital but have intensified against farming communities and other rural areas outside of Port-au-Prince.

Populaire

Haïti : le Conseil de sécurité de l’ONU examine lundi la situation sécuritaire et les préparatifs électoraux

Le Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies tiendra lundi 19 octobre une séance publique consacrée à Haïti, suivie de consultations à huis clos, avec au programme la dégradation de la situation sécuritaire, le déploiement de la Force de répression des gangs (GSF) et les incertitudes entourant l’organisation des prochaines élections. Selon Security Council Report, publié le 16 octobre, trois responsables onusiens sont susceptibles de présenter un état des lieux : Carlos Ruiz Massieu, représentant spécial du secrétaire général et chef du Bureau intégré des Nations unies en Haïti (BINUH) ; Jack Christofides, représentant spécial pour la GSF ; et Daniela Kroslak, secrétaire générale adjointe et cheffe du Bureau de soutien des Nations unies en Haïti (UNSOH), dont la participation au briefing reste possible.

Martelly puts elections rumors to rest, registers to run for Haiti presidency

Former Haitian President Michel Martelly has registered to run for the presidency of the Caribbean nation, joining a growing list of candidates hoping to lead a troubled Haiti despite facing sanctions from the United States, Canada and the European Union — or in the case of the former singer, all three. Martelly’s name was among 16 listed Friday on the Provisional Electoral Council’s website as having preliminary registered to run. The list also includes another former president, Jocelerme Privert, and a former member of the lower house of Parliament, Gary Bodeau. Privert who oversaw the country’s last general elections in 2016, has been sanctioned by Canada. Bodeau has been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department under a federal act that targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption, and faces Canadian sanctions as well.

Exclusive: Inside Erik Prince’s secretive operation taking on Haiti’s gangs (CNN)

Prince would not disclose the annual fee he receives for work with the Task Force, claiming only that it is a “fraction” of the cost of the short-lived Multinational Security Support mission — an initiative backed financially and logistically by the United States, that once envisaged 5,500 foreign police in Port-au-Prince. “Our cost is one-sixth of what their annual camp cost was,” Prince said. The sum is likely in the tens of millions of dollars. His income will be augmented by a deal to help control Haiti’s porous border with the Dominican Republic for the next 10 years in return for 10% of any new customs revenue collected. The long-term contract has raised criticism locally of how Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé is using his mandate as interim leader.

Haïti au cœur des préoccupations sécuritaires de Washington : plus de 340 millions de dollars annoncés pour les Caraïbes, mais quelle part pour Port-au-Prince...

Les États-Unis ont annoncé, le 15 octobre, plus de 340 millions de dollars de nouveaux engagements financiers en faveur des Caraïbes, destinés notamment à la sécurité portuaire, au renforcement des forces de l’ordre, aux infrastructures numériques et aux capacités sanitaires. Derrière cette enveloppe régionale, Haïti occupe une place particulière : lors de l’ouverture du Dialogue États-Unis-Caraïbes, le vice-secrétaire d’État américain Christopher Landau a directement évoqué les armes acheminées vers le territoire haïtien depuis les États-Unis et les démarches entreprises par Washington pour tenter d’endiguer ces flux.