Over the period of Nov. 2-3, the Haitian National Police (PNH) succeeded in seizing control of Port-au-Prince’s Varreux oil terminal from the murderous G-9 gang that had blockaded it with heavy equipment and deep trenches for eight weeks with devastating consequences for a population reeling from a surging cholera epidemic, poverty, starvation and unending violence. The G-9 had also blocked access to the nearby port cutting off imports and exports.
The PNH succeeded in removing G-9 from Varreux thanks to the use of tactical armored vehicles and other equipment recently arrived from Canada and the U.S. A SWAT team, trained by the French and the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, was also deployed to good effect.
If the PNH is able to maintain control over the terminal and to access roads to the port, which is not guaranteed, this will provide a modicum of relief to the population that is expected to have access to fuel beginning Nov. 7. While the G-9 occupied the terminal, schools, hospitals and clinics were forced to shut down. Thousands of workers were laid off because their companies could not operate without fuel. The only company producing bottled water was forced to close due to lack of diesel fuel to run generators. Without access to clean water and sanitation infrastructure, Haitians are more and more vulnerable to cholera, a water-borne disease.
But let’s emphasize the words modicum of relief. The situation in the capital remains untenable and unlivable. Violence is unrelenting as rival gangs engage in daily shootouts for control of neighborhoods, randomly killing, raping and kidnaping citizens of all ages. Healthcare workers take their lives in their hands just traveling from one part of the city to another to attend to sick patients or set up cholera treatment centers. Cholera cases in hospitals are continuing to increase at a worrisome rate, Le Nouvelliste reports.
Coinciding with the PNH action, and with much fanfare, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, together with the Canadian government, announced they had imposed sanctions on two high-profile Haitian politicians, Senate President Joseph Lambert and his predecessor in that post Youri Latortue, for alleged ties to drug trafficking and criminal gangs. Secretary of State Tony Blinken chimed in on Nov. 4 to announce that because of his corruption, criminal activity and gross human rights violations, Lambert and his family members are prohibited from entering the U.S.
While this is presented as evidence that developed nations are “doing something” to help Haiti, at the same time, the U.S. and Canadian governments continue to discuss the harebrained scheme to send a multinational security force into Haiti to improve the security situation—a proposal firmly rejected by the majority of the Haitian population. The U.S. is reportedly urging Canada to play the lead role in any such multinational force.
