Haitian politics

Haiti swears in a new leader as gangs shoot at a flight landing in the main airport

4:09pm November 11, 2024

Haiti's international airport shut down temporarily after gangs opened fire at a Spirit Airlines flight landing in Port-Au-Prince. The latest violence came as a new prime minister was sworn in.

Jimmy Chérizier, a former elite police officer known as Barbecue, who now runs a Haitian gang federation.

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Haiti's notorious gang leader, Barbecue, says his forces are ready for a long fight

8:52am May 13, 2024

by Eyder Peralta

Barbecue is the man who convinced many of Haiti's gangs to stop fighting each other and start fighting the government. He spoke to NPR about his latest plans.

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Michel Patrick Boisvert (center), who was named interim prime minister by outgoing Prime Minister Ariel Henry, attends the swearing-in ceremony of the transitional council tasked with selecting Haiti's new prime minister and cabinet, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

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Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry has resigned as a transitional council takes over

2:49pm April 25, 2024

by Eyder Peralta

Haiti's de facto prime minister, Ariel Henry, has formally stepped down and a new transitional council has been sworn in. Finance chief Michel Patrick Boisvert is the new interim prime minister.

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Haiti's prime minister steps down, leaving a power vacuum amid mounting violence

11:09am March 16, 2024

The Haitian prime minister has agreed to step down in an attempt to quell violence there. But several obstacles remain to ensure a peaceful transition of power to new leadership.

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Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, was largely shut down March 4, with residents venturing out only for essentials, AFP reporters witnessed, as authorities imposed a state of emergency after an attack on a prison freed thousands of inmates.

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Haitians have learned to persevere through the worst crises, often with humor

7:00am March 16, 2024

by Harold Isaac

Haiti is coming back to life after violent gangs took over most of the capital and the prime minister became stranded abroad. Some are even laughing it off.

A woman prays during a mass at the St. Pierre church in the Pétion-Ville district of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Oct. 23.

World News

Reporter's notebook: Haiti's at a breaking point but few want foreign intervention

4:17pm November 04, 2022

by Eyder Peralta

The U.S. and other countries put sanctions on Haitian gangsters and a corrupt politician. But as Haiti combats hunger, cholera and gangs, many want Haitian solutions — not a foreign troop deployment.

Demonstrators carry a coffin covered with American, Canadian and French flags and pictures of politicians as they protest on Jean-Jacques Dessalines Day in Port-au-Prince on Monday. Haitians protest against their prime minister and foreign countries as the nation celebrates the 216th anniversary of the assassination of Dessalines, a Haitian independence hero and founding father.

Nations consider sending troops to Haiti, despite troubled past foreign intervention

4:05pm October 20, 2022

by Michele Kelemen

The U.S. and Mexico proposed to the United Nations Security Council a "non-U.N." force for Haiti to help the country resolve deepening crises, but countries are cautious given prior harmful efforts.

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