5 days Ago
Haiti is on the precipitous of "total chaos", a “total collapse” and a “potential point of no return” from gang violence and the anarchy that has ruled in impoverished Caribbean island since 2021. United Nations Special Representative María Isabel Salvador told the Security Council Monday that criminal gangs are waging “deliberate and coordinated” campaigns to expand territorial control and paralyze the capital, Port-au-Prince. Commercial flights into the Haitian capital have been suspended, some roads are blocked, 39 hospitals and medical facilities have closed and more than 900 schools have closed due to ongoing violence.
“Cholera outbreaks are spreading, and sexual and gender-based violence is on the rise – especially in displacement sites where shelter, sanitation and protection are severely lacking,” the UN said in an announcement. Gang violence and assaults on women have extended to other areas of the country and there have been large prison breaks. “The magnitude of the violence has sown panic among the population,” Salvador said.
According to the UN, in February and March, more than 1,000 people were killed, nearly 400 injured and 60,000 have been displaced from their homes. Rapes and killings have been commonplace since Haiti sunk into anarchy after the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse by foreign mercenaries A displaced woman holds her baby inside a school that is now operating as a shelter for those fleeing their homes to escape gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph) “The country needs us more than ever,” Salvador said.
She called for more international security and humanitarian support. A Kenya-led international security force has struggled to stem gang and vigilant violence. The Trump administration’s pullback on U.
S. foreign aid is also a challenge. “The UN’s ability to stay operational hinges on continued access, predictable funding and support to logistical lifelines like the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), Salvador said, warning that any further reduction in aid capacity could have dire consequences.
The Trump administration is also trying to end a Haitian refugee program as part of its hardline immigration push. That action is being challenged in court. U.
S. Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea said corruption, sexual violence and the recruitment of children into gangs are major concerns and called for more international financial contributions to help Haiti and pressed for the need for other countries to step up. A motorcyclist rides past a burning car during a protest against insecurity in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, April 2, 2025.
(AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph) "America cannot continue shouldering such a significant financial burden," she said. Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nation argued the U.S.
has been part of past instability in Haiti and criticized the Trump administration for its 10% "Liberation Day" tariffs on Haiti 'While the U.S. defied world opinion by imposing tariffs on all trade partners, it also extended its so-called baseline tariff to Haiti, one of the world's least developed countries," he said during a UN hearing.
"This is not only cruel and absurd, but also profoundly heartbreaking." The U.S.
occupied Haiti, a former French colony, from 1915 to 1934. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and has a population of 11.64 million.
Its capital city — Port-au-Prince — has a metropolitan population of 2.6 million people. A motorcycle taxi driver transports clients past tires set on fire by protesters during a demonstration demanding the resignation of the transitional presidential council in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, March 26, 2025.
(AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph) The violence and chaos have also made work in Haiti dangerous for relief workers, journalists and Christian missionaries. “We are approaching a point of no return,” Salvador said of the current situation. “Without timely and decisive international support, the violence will continue to escalate, and Haiti could face total collapse.
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