Gangs attacked Haiti’s largest prison and allowed inmates to escape Saturday night, according to local police unions and a lawyer for some of the detainees, the latest instance of escalating violence and unrest in the capital. country, plagued by gang violence even more. than two years.
While the details of the attack remain murky, at least two of the country’s police unions took to social media on Saturday demanding that all police officers report to the national prison in Port- au-Prince, the capital, to help control the situation and prevent the prisoners from escaping.
“If we let the gangs take over the prison, we’re done,” the national police union SNPH-17 said in a post on X. “No one can be saved in the capital.”
Haiti’s national penitentiary — with nearly 4,000 inmates, though built to handle Only 800 — with some high-profile inmates, such as Colombian commandos accused of being part of the group that killed Haiti’s president, Jovenel Moïse, in 2021.
A Haitian lawyer for some of the soldiers accused of the killing, Samuel Madistin, told The New York Times that he had spoken with his clients who said the national prison was almost empty of prisoners. Only those too old or disabled to escape and those accused of killing Moïse stayed, Mr. Madistin said, for fear of capture if they left the prison.
Videos circulating on social media on Sunday appeared to show journalists roaming parts of the national penitentiary that were almost empty of inmates.
Lionel Lazarre, coordinator of the National Union of Haitian Police Officers, told The Times that the prison and the second prison in Port-au-Prince, the Croix-des-Bouquets Civil Prison, were both attacked on Saturday and several prisoner has escaped. , but it is not clear how many.
Mr. Lazarre added that heavy gunfire broke out inside the prison, but by Sunday the police had regained control.
“The attack was obvious,” Mr. Lazarre said, adding that the gang members had not tried to hide their plans to close the prison. “There is a lack of care from the police authorities who do not take these messages seriously or take adequate measures to strengthen security.”
Commissioner Ernst Dorfeuille, a senior police officer in charge of operations in Port-au-Prince, said the internet was down, making it difficult to take an assessment of the situation. He still thought that most of the prisoners had escaped: “I don’t think there was a single prisoner left there,” he said, adding, “The gangs had come together so the force of the attack was in their favor .”
The Haitian government has not commented on the episode.
Haiti has climbed into a state of extreme chaos after the killing of Mr. Moïse led to widespread gang violence and the almost complete collapse of security. From a force of about 15,000 officers, nearly 3,000 policemen have abandoned their posts in the past two years, according to police figures.
The country does not have a president or any other elected national official, and gangs – which have gained control of much of Port-au-Prince – terrorize thousands of people every day. Last year, at least 5,000 people were killed in Haiti, according to the United Nations.
Violence in the country escalated last week after Prime Minister Ariel Henry traveled to Kenya to finalize a deal under which that country would send 1,000 police to help restore order in Haiti.
The prison attack was part of a wave of attacks carried out by armed gangs in recent days while Haiti’s prime minister was out of the country. The goal, according to Jimmy Cherizier, a gang leader known as Barbecue, is to overthrow what’s left of the government.
In a video message on Thursday, Mr. Cherizier said, “With our guns and together with the Haitian people, we will liberate the country.”
It is unclear whether an international police force led by Kenya, which has drawn criticism from human rights groups, can help check the violence. The recent attacks constitute a clear show of force in the gang-ravaged country, experts say.
“The gangs seem to be sending a message of intimidation to the troops who may soon deploy to Haiti, saying, ‘Well, we are forming a united front and we can attack simultaneously, ‘” said Diego Da Rin, an expert on Haiti at the International Crisis Group.
Romain Le Cour, a security analyst at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, said, “Frankly, it’s a situation where you have the complete absence and silence of the state,” adding that some of the violence is likely which are planned for weeks, while some are spontaneous.
Although Haitian authorities have been losing ground for years, Mr. Le Cour said, recent days have shown that armed gangs have achieved a “significant shift” in the balance of power.
“This is probably one of the first times you’ve had directed, targeted attacks. It’s not like it used to be,” he added. “They’re just going to do it now.”
Andre Paultre reported from Port-au-Prince, Emiliano Rodríguez Mega from Mexico City and David C. Adams from Miami.
