Haiti police seize firearms, clear gang blocks as a Presidential Council forms

The authorities in Haiti announced on Saturday that they seized firearms and cleared roadblocks in a Port-au-Prince district controlled by gang leader Jimmy "Barbecue." Additionally, Haitian politicians have started to form a Presidential Council.

According to Lionel Lazarre from the Haitian police union, national police units entered the Delmas district on Friday evening to regain control and ensure security.

Lazarre mentioned that several "bandits" were killed. A later police statement clarified that officers exchanged fire with members of the Cherizier gang, seized firearms, and successfully cleared the roads.

The police are implementing new strategies to reclaim areas recently occupied by armed gangs, aiming to facilitate the free movement of citizens wishing to live in peace, as per the statement.

In recent days, Haitians have been waiting for the appointment of a temporary governing body meant to restore stability in the country, which has been plagued by gang violence, isolated from the world, and largely abandoned.

It is essential to acknowledge Haiti's long and brutal history of foreign interventions, including a 20-year American occupation in the early 20th century and a deadly cholera outbreak linked to a UN peacekeeping mission in 2010.

The Haitian government declared a state of emergency in early March following an offensive by armed gangs that control most of the country's territory. During this period, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry was in Nairobi, discussing the deployment of a Kenyan military-police contingent to Haiti under a UN initiative, aiming to restore the rule of law.

The US State Department announced that Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Kenyan President William Ruto about the Haitian crisis, which has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths at the hands of gangs. Both concurred on the necessity of deploying an international mission to Haiti to restore peace.