Gang Violence Has Its Grip on Haiti: In Whose Hands Can It Be Entrusted Now?
Current Events
In the first three months of 2024, an estimated 1,500 Haitians were killed at the hands of the extreme gang violence that has barred Acting President Ariel Henry from returning to the country. Current reports suggest that 80% of capital city Port-au-Prince is now under gang control, with former police officer Jimmy Chérizier, known locally as “Barbecue,” heading the preeminent alliance, the G9 Family and Allies.
Fighting to oust Prime Minister Henry, an unelected ruler who took office in 2021, Chérizier casts himself as a revolutionary figure akin to Che Guevara or Malcolm X, “fighting on behalf of the vulnerable” against centuries of Haitian political oppression.
Haiti’s political history has indeed been marked by some of the greatest instability in the western hemisphere. Henry, whose predecessor was assassinated, was just one of a string of leaders who triggered fears of despotism in the country. He has been accused by New York Times investigators of having a hand in the assassination.
A Brief Survey of Haitian National History
In 1804, the African slaves of Saint Domingue succeeded in a 13-years-long insurrection now known as the Haitian Revolution. Securing its independence from France, Haiti became the first sovereign nation in Latin America, and first post-colonial Black-led free nation in the world.
For European colonial powers, the victory of Haitian independence posed a dangerous precedent worldwide. France operationalized these fears in 1825 when it demanded a practically infeasible $21 billion to be repaid to former planters and slaveholders in exchange for its recognition of Haitian independence. The debt, combined with most nations’ refusal to cooperate politically with Haiti, brought the former wealthiest colony in the world to become the poorest in the western hemisphere by 1900.
Haiti paid off its debt in 1947, and the French order was repealed in 2016—though no reparations have been offered. Some scholars posit that, had Haiti not been deprived of $21 to $115 billion of growth over two centuries, it could have experienced a similar level of development to the neighboring Dominican Republic.
Severe economic circumstances have been further compounded by corrupt governments and natural disasters, most notably its 2010 earthquake which claimed around 300,000 lives. As Cornell University’s Crystal Felima argues, while Haiti’s natural hazards might be attributed to geographic circumstance, they only become natural disasters as a result of social and economic constructs—poor disaster mitigation efforts, insufficient political supports, and unstable livelihoods, to name a few.
Political Leadership in Haiti
The 20th century began with a 19-year military occupation of Haiti under Woodrow Wilson’s government, motivated in large part by American corporate interests. Subsequently, the United States supported Haiti’s next president François “Papa Doc” Duvalier, who declared himself and son rulers for life and whose regime murdered over 30,000 Haitians. Overthrown in 1968, the Duvalier family plundered an estimated $500 million from the country, plunging national poverty rates into even greater extremes. The Duvalier regime, without question, persists in the minds of many of those reckoning with the gang insurrection today.
With the fall of the Duvaliers came a series of insecure leaders elected in questionably democratic proceedings. United States involvement largely dropped off in the 21st century, thereby ceding much of the authority to provide foreign aid to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
Though the U.S. has supported Prime Minister Henry in the past, it began 2024 by urging his resignation, which finally came due to gang pressures in March. In response to the extreme gang violence (and threat of “genocide”), other nations have also stepped in—notably, Kenya, who offers to send one thousand peacekeeping officers once a new government is established.
The responsibility now rests on CARICOM to decide upon a transitional government for Haiti. Though one prominent gang leader, Guy Philippe, has indicated wishes to cooperate with the new government, Cherizier has openly pledged to disrespect the council’s decision.
To what extent is the United States beholden to involve itself in the formation of the new government, or in the provision of aid? Is CARICOM a preferable community to decide the fate of Haiti’s government? On whom should the future of Haiti rely?
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