Haiti has expanded its state of emergency to cover the entire country, as its army and police try to regain control from violent gangs.
The Sept. 4 announcement was made 24 hours before a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Haiti is divided into 10 provinces, known as departments.
In March, then-prime minister Henry imposed a state of emergency on the city’s Ouest department, which includes the capital Port-au-Prince, after violence paralyzed the city and thousands of prisoners broke out of jail.
The state of emergency was later extended to the Artibonite, Centre, and Nippes departments, and on Sept. 4, Conille expanded it to the rest of the country.
Stabilization Efforts
The United States is the biggest funder of a U.N.-backed security mission to Haiti.“[They will discuss] forthcoming steps in Haiti’s democratic transition and U.S. support to the Haitian people through humanitarian assistance and Haitian-led stabilization efforts,” the State Department said on Sept. 4.
“[Blinken] will also meet with leadership of the Multinational Security Support mission, emphasizing U.S. support to reestablish security in Haiti while also underscoring the significance of promoting respect for human rights.”
The U.N. contingent includes 400 Kenyan police officers, who arrived in June and July.
Several other countries pledged at least 2,500 more troops, but they have yet to arrive, and the mission’s mandate is set to expire next month.
About 580,000 people have been internally displaced by gang violence in Haiti, and it is estimated that 5 million people are facing severe hunger as a result of the chaos.
Haiti has been mired in political chaos since 2021, when President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated by a group of Colombian mercenaries.
In the absence of a president, Henry—who had been appointed by Moïse a few weeks earlier—stayed on as the country’s leader, but he was unable to stop the deterioration of law and order.
Gangs raided dozens of police stations and opened fire on the main international airport, forcing it to close for nearly three months.
Jimmy “Barbeque” Cherizier, a leader of an alliance of armed gangs, claimed responsibility for the increase in violence.
He has said he wanted to overthrow Henry, who eventually agreed to resign in March, providing a transitional council could find a replacement—which they eventually did in Conille—who was formerly UNICEF’s regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Conille served as Haiti’s prime minister from October 2011 to May 2012 under President Michel Martelly.
Haiti held its last presidential election in Nov. 2016, when Moïse was elected.
Elections for a new president are on hold until the gang violence is brought under control and peace and stability are restored.
After visiting Haiti, Blinken will meet the president of the neighboring Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, who has barred Haitians from flying into his country.
Abinader is also constructing a fence along the border between the nations that share the island of Hispaniola.
During the era of slavery, the western half of the island, then known as Saint-Domingue, was one of the richest parts of the French empire.
In recent years Haiti has been impoverished while the Dominican Republic, boosted by a growing tourist industry, has flourished.
