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January 27, 2023

Haitian Police Blockade Port-au-Prince Streets After Gangs Kill 14 Officers
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In Haiti, police officers blocked streets in the capital Port-au-Prince
Thursday, burning tires and damaging vehicles, before descending on the
main airport to protest the recent killing of 14 officers by armed
gangs. Over 100 officers in plainclothes took part in the protest. Local
media report a small group was able to break through the gates of Prime
Minister Ariel Henry's home but then rerouted to the airport, where
Henry was returning from the Community of Latin American and Caribbean
States, or CELAC, summit in Argentina. This is a protester.

Protester: "We are going to attack all the ministers, all the directors
general. There has to be a revolution. The children have to go to school
for this revolution to take place. There has to be a bloodbath. All
these policemen have been killed, and the prime minister has not reacted
to pay tribute to them."

Armed gangs now control some 60% of Port-au-Prince, according to local
groups. An estimated 78 police officers have been killed since Henry,
who's backed by the United States, came to power in 2021 following the
assassination of Haiti's former president. Henry had close links to a
prime suspect in the assassination.


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