Haiti Is In Emergency After Thousands Of Prisoners Escaped

(CTN News) – Haiti experienced an explosion of violent gang violence in Haiti over the weekend. This saw thousands of convicts escape from prison due to the Haitian government curfew and the declaration of an emergency for 72 hours.

On Saturday night, in the wake of the assaults on the country’s two largest prisons, the government announced that it is searching for murderers, kidnappers, and other violent criminals who had fled during the assaults.

There is an ongoing power struggle in the Haiti country among several gangs, led by a former police officer called Jimmy Cherizier, also known as “Barbecue”, who have taken steps to unseat Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

As per Pierre Esperance, one of the members of the National Network for Defence of Human Rights, it is estimated that only about 100 of the estimated 3,800 inmates are still in the National Penitentiary.

It was reported on Sunday that the Haiti Ministry of Communication, in a statement posted on social media, said that the attack on the prison sought to free those inmates imprisoned for murder, kidnapping, and other serious crimes.

Since Henry has returned from his recent visit to Kenya, the Kenyan police and gangs have been involved in armed clashes which have intensified since Henry returned from the country.

Following the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise in 2021, he was elected to power in the aftermath of the death of the then President. He had previously announced his intention to step down by February.

However, he later stated that in order for free and fair elections to be held, security must first be restored in order for those elections to be free and fair.

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