Port-au-Prince has seen a shift in power with merciless gangs terrorizing its population as neighborhoods form into warring criminal factions, effectively cutting Haiti's international port off from the rest of the country.
TOPSHOT - This screen grab taken from AFPTV shows tires on fire near the main prison of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on March 3, 2024, after a breakout by several thousand inmates. At least a dozen people died as gang members attacked the main prison in Haiti's capital, triggering a breakout by several thousand inmates, an AFP reporter and an NGO said on March 3. "We counted many prisoners' bodies," said Pierre Esperance of the National Network for Defense of Human Rights, adding that only around 100 of the National Penitentiary's estimated 3,800 inmates were still inside the facility after the gang assault overnight on March 2.
According to CNN, the most shared online videos are those of torture footage recorded and posted by gangs to maximize horror and expedite ransom payments for thousands of kidnapping victims.
Last month, within hours of landing at the city's Toussaint L'Ouverture airport, a CNN team began to receive forwarded messages from contacts sharing the latest cruel footage - a bound woman twisting away from flames as her kidnappers jeered.
Frequent civilian protests show that the population has reached a breaking point. The United Nations estimates gangs currently control 80% of the capital and are battling to overpower the rest.
A wave of highly coordinated gang attacks have burned down police stations, freeing prisoners in what one gang leader described as a direct challenge to Haiti's unpopular Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
On Sunday, Haiti's government declared a state of emergency following the escape of thousands of inmates from one of its largest prisons.
"We have chosen to take our destiny into our own hands. The battle we are waging will not only topple Ariel's government. It is a battle that will change the whole system," said Jimmy "Barbecue" Cherizier, a former police officer who styles himself as a Robin Hood figure in his territory, in a statement reported by local media.
Henry had been appointed prime minister by President Jovenel Moïse shortly before his assassination and has since governed the country.
BBC revealed gang violence was already unrestrained under President Moïse, and his murder only allowed for the gangs to seize more territory and further reign influence throughout the city.
Since Henry's appointment, which lacked a proper election, many have questioned the legitimacy of his position. Opposition to his leadership has exponentially increased since he failed to materialize elections after promising to hold them.
Brutality and theft have spread within the country, specifically where Henry's main opponent, Barbecue, has built up his power base.
Schools and hospitals have had to shut down, and more than 100,000 people fled their homes in 2023, according to the International Organization for Migration.
The International Committee of the Red Cross told the BBC its staff had to talk to hundreds of gangs to be able to deliver humanitarian aid.
What Is Prime Minister Ariel Henry's Plan To Counter The Civil Unrest?
Henry's whereabouts are currently unaccounted for after a visit to Kenya last week. But the news of a signed agreement signed by Kenya and Haiti was announced Friday to salvage plans for the African country to deploy 1,000 police officers to the struggling Caribbean nation as a means to combat heightening levels of gang violence.
Kenya's President William Ruto said in a statement that he and Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry witnessed the signing of the reciprocal agreements between the two countries, reported The Associated Press.
In a public lecture at the United States International University in Kenya on Friday, Henry doubled down on his intentions to hold elections as soon as possible to bring stability to the country.
"We need elections in order to stabilize the country. We need democratic governance in order to have people to come and invest in Haiti," he said.
Henry further explained that due to overwhelming gang violence, any plan to move forward on such promises has come to a standstill.
Caribbean leaders have stated that Henry has agreed to hold general elections by mid-2025.
When asked if it was safe for him to return home from his Kenya trip, Henry simply shrugged in response.
"Barbecue," the leader of the gang federation G9 Family and Allies, announced in a recorded video that his group aimed to detain the police chief and government ministers and prevent Henry from returning to Haiti.
"With our guns and with the Haitian people, we will free the country," he said.
As political instability worsens, gangs continue to gain momentum and power.
So far, more than 8,400 people have been reported killed, injured, or kidnapped in Haiti since 2023. That is more than double the number reported in 2022.
