Haitian senator shoots two people, including journalist, outside parliament
A Haitian senator reportedly shot two men, including a photojournalist, outside the country’s parliament Monday amid unrest in the nation.
Sen. Jean Marie Ralph Féthière (above) opened fire while facing a throng of unruly protesters on the second day of failed attempts by the government to confirm the nomination of Fritz William Michel as the new prime minister, according to The Guardian.
The senators had left parliament without a vote.
Féthière allegedly had his gun drawn outside of the Port-au-Prince building and warned the crowd he would shoot if they didn’t let him leave, according to Senator Patrice Dumont.
The gunfire struck Associated Press photographer Chery Dieu-Nalio, who managed to snap a photo of the senator with his handgun drawn as he stood next to a vehicle.
Dieu-Nalio, who was wounded in the face by bullet fragments, was hospitalized and is expected to survive.
Another man, Leon Leblanc, a security guard and driver, also suffered non-life threatening injuries, the report said.
Protesters reportedly swarmed Haiti’s parliament Monday as part of a larger movement against Haitian President Jovenel Moïse and the government for a diminishing quality of life aided by a serious fuel shortage and the rising cost of living, The Guardian said.
Féthière later explained his actions to Radio Mega, saying, “I was attacked by groups of violent militants. They tried to get me out of my vehicle. And so I defended myself. Self-defense is a sacred right.
“Armed individuals threatened me. It was proportional. Equal force, equal response.”
He also claimed he was unaware there was a journalist around, despite Dieu-Nalio wearing a jacket with the word “Press” and a helmet, the Guardian said.
Moïse has reportedly tried to force through Michel’s appointment in order to leave the country and speak at this week’s UN meetings.
As senators left Monday without the appointment, they were greeted by protester shouts of “thief, thief, thief.”
The senate president, Carl Murat Cantave, who was critical of the police handling of the chaotic crowds, had rocks thrown at him.
Senator Jean Rigaud Belizaire also said the Senate’s rooms had been smeared with a liquid resembling feces, the report said.
Haiti Braces for Mass Protests Friday
WASHINGTON / PORT-AU-PRINCE — Haiti is preparing for mass protests Friday after opposition groups published a statement asking citizens to take to the streets that day to demand the ouster of President Jovenel Moise.
The protests are meant to coincide with national hero Jean Jacques Dessalines' birthday. Dessalines, a former slave and revered revolutionary war general, announced the country's independence from France in 1804. For many Haitians, he symbolizes the pinnacle of good leadership.
Among the opposition’s demands are the establishment of a transitional government, trials for all those implicated in the PetroCaribe corruption scandal, prosecution of public officials accused of corruption, and organization of a National Sovereignty Conference to discuss the framework for a new government.
"Our objective is to establish a good foundation to build a new structure that will benefit every level of Haitian society," said Andre Michel, spokesman for the Democratic and Popular Sector (Secteur Democratique et Populaire).
Gas shortage
A severe gas shortage has had a crippling effect nationwide. Residents who rely on gas for transportation, electricity, commerce and other essential daily activities have been lining up and waiting for hours to buy limited quantities of gas. Mobile video recorded by a VOA Creole freelancer showed a large group of people, each holding plastic yellow containers for gas, fighting after someone cut into a long line in Port-au-Prince.
The shortage has also created high demand for gas on the black market, where gallons of gasoline are sold for exorbitant prices. The criminal activity sparked so much concern among law enforcement that officers rounded up journalists to witness a crackdown on contraband. Officials said they would arrest and prosecute anyone found selling gas on the black market.
To try to soothe national ire over the gas situation, acting Prime Minister Jean Michel Lapin announced that the country had received and paid for 140,000 barrels of gas that would be distributed to local stations starting Thursday. He also announced that the government, which subsidizes the price of gasoline to keep it affordable for the underprivileged, planned a price hike.
"The government can no longer afford to subsidize [the price of] gasoline," Lapin said. "So, the government is thinking about how it can keep regular gas prices affordable for the underprivileged while hiking the price of diesel." He did not say when the price increase would go into effect.
But a gas price hike announced by the government during the late-night hours of July 6, 2018, sparked outrage that triggered several days of violent protests nationwide that led to at least seven deaths, lootings and burnings of businesses, and destruction of hotels and private property.
'Sick and tired'
On Monday, protesters used rocks, flaming tires and their cars to block streets in some neighborhoods of the capital, Port-au-Prince, Jacmel and Cape Haitian in a show of anger over the gasoline situation and their disgust with the country's political and economic crisis.
"The president has not said a word! Let's be serious, poor people can't even find a gallon of gas to buy so they can get to work. The way the country is going is not good. The president must go," a man selling water on the street told VOA Creole.
"I have never experienced bad times such as these," a cigarette vendor told VOA Creole. "Even under the [U.S.] embargo things weren't this bad. I call this embargo death."
Other protesters complained about the cost of living, lack of jobs and not being able to send their children to school.
Political activity is also in crisis mode after an opposition senator, Saurel Jacinthe, publicly accused several colleagues and a potential officeholder of exchanging cash for votes in parliament.
Ruling party PHTK (Pati Ayisyen Tet Kale) leader Line Balthazar issued a statement about the current crisis on Tuesday.
"We recommended that the president make some decisions — and start by signing a political agreement with the opposition," Balthazar told VOA Creole. "The political accord will also include members of civil society, the private sector, citizens associations — so we're looking for a consensus to resolve the country's problems." He also recommended the president withdraw the nomination of Fritz William Michel as the next prime minister.
Balthazar met with Moise before his interview with VOA Creole Wednesday, but did not divulge what was discussed or decided.
UNGA speech
Meanwhile, Moise is preparing to head to New York, where he is scheduled to deliver a speech before the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 27.
"We want the world to know that Jovenel Moise has no mandate to speak on behalf of the Haitian people at the United Nations or any other location," Marjorie Michel, a member of the Democratic and Popular sector opposition party, announced during a press conference Thursday.
Michel also reiterated the opposition's demand that the president resign as soon as possible and said the opposition was ready to hit the streets Friday.
Accused by judges, Haitian president denies corruption allegations
Port-au-Prince (AFP) - Haitian President Jovenel Moise on Wednesday denied allegations that he was at the center of an embezzlement scheme spanning the last decade.
"I'm looking you in the eye today to say: your president, whom you voted for, is not guilty of corruption," Moise told a press conference.
"The people who mishandled and misused state funds will be brought to justice in a fair, equitable trial without political persecution," he added.
The judges of Haiti's High Court of Auditors said in a voluminous report at the end of May that Moise was at the center of an embezzlement scheme that siphoned off Venezuelan aid money intended for road repairs, laying out what they said was a litany of examples of corruption and mismanagement.
The magistrates said they discovered, for example, that in 2014 Haitian authorities signed contracts with two different companies -- Agritrans and Betexs -- for the same road-repair project. The two turned out to have the same tax registration number and the same personnel.
Before he came to power in 2017, Moise headed Agritrans, which received more than 33 million gourdes ($700,000 at the time) to do the road work, though the company in principle did nothing but grow bananas.
Agritrans received an advance two months before the road-repair contract was signed, leading the magistrates to believe "there was collusion, favoritism and embezzlement."
"To those who think it's alright to criticize the company I led before being president, before being a candidate, I say that justice is doing its work. The business is there and all the paperwork exists," Moise responded Wednesday.
Several thousand demonstrators marched through Port-au-Prince on Sunday to demand Moise's resignation.
Two people were killed by gunfire on the sidelines of the rally, which ended with significant violence and property damage.
Two deaths as protesters burn tires, block roads in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Protesters denouncing corruption blocked roads and paralyzed much of Haiti’s capital Sunday as they demanded the removal of President Jovenel Moise, while police reported two people killed and five injured.
Demonstrators burned tires and threw stones during the march in Port-au-Prince, where the scent of burning rubber filled the air. Many stores and gas stations were closed and travel between some cities was impeded as protesters blocked roads with cars, stones and other large objects.
Police erected barricades near the presidential palace and fired tear gas to drive away demonstrators who tried to breach them.
Police spokesman Michael-Ange Jeunes said gunshots caused the two deaths and wounded four people. He said a police officer was injured by a thrown rock.
There was no information on who fired the shots.
Louis-Jeunes said protesters set fire to two police cars and two buildings. He said 12 people had been arrested.
Similar protests were held in the Haitian cities of Jacmel, Cap-Haitien, Saint-Marc and Gonaives. Demonstrators came from a wide cross-section of society, including political parties, religious groups and community organizations.
Protesters were demanding further investigation into the fate of funds that resulted from subsidized oil shipments from Venezuela under the Petrocaribe program. A Senate investigation recently determined at least 14 former government officials allegedly misused $3.8 billion under the administration of former President Michel Martelly.
Venezuela’s collapsing economy has forced the South American nation to halt or drastically curtail Petrocaribe shipments, leading to problems for power generation. Many Haitians now receive electricity for only a few hours a day.
SEAL vet dishes on mysterious arrest in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — An American security contractor at the center of a mysterious case roiling Haitian politics says that he and a group of fellow veterans were sent to Haiti on a mission to protect a businessman signing a more than $50 million contract at the country’s central bank.
Chris Osman, a 44-year-old retired Navy SEAL, told The Associated Press that he and six fellow contractors were arrested by Haitian police during what was supposed to be a simple Sunday afternoon reconnaissance of the route their client would take to the bank the following day, Feb. 18.
"It went bad for us," he said in the first on-the-record interview by any of the arrested men. "I don't know what the real truth is."
Osman said he and his fellow contractors — carrying a dozen semi-automatic rifles and pistols, along with satellite phones and other gear — had pulled away from the bank when they were stopped by police and detained for three days before they were set free by Haiti's Justice Ministry and allowed to fly home to the U.S., where they were released without charges.
The contractors’ unexplained release and the still-murky nature of their mission have helped fuel political chaos in Haiti, where President Jovenel Moise has faced months of protests over his government’s failure to prosecute the theft and mismanagement of $2 billion in subsidized oil aid from Venezuela under the administration of his predecessor and political patron, Michel Martelly.
Neither Moise’s administration nor the American ambassador in Haiti, Michele Sison, has offered any explanation of the U.S. contractors’ mission in Haiti or the reason for their release, which appeared to violate Haitian criminal procedure. Moise’s allies in the lower house of Parliament dissolved the Haitian government by dismissing Prime Minister Jean-Henry Ceant on Monday hours before he was due to testify in the Senate about the American contractors’ case.
Communications Minister Jean-Michel Lapin was being named interim prime minister Thursday, but there seemed little likelihood that the government would be able to bring stability to a country gripped by rising inflation, energy shortages and popular discontent.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio flew to Haiti Wednesday for meetings with the president and opposition in which, the senator said on Twitter, he discussed the formation of a new government and the need for “good faith dialogue” and parliamentary elections scheduled for October.
News site The Intercept reported Wednesday, citing anonymous sources, that one of the contractors, 52-year-old Marine veteran Kent Kroeker, had been told the mission was to escort presidential aide Fritz Jean-Louis to the Haitian central bank, who would electronically transfer $80 million from the government’s Venezuela oil fund to a second account controlled solely by the president in order to give Moise greater power over the government’s limited funds.
Osman said that report did not match his experience in several key ways.
Osman said he received a call from Hawkstorm Global, a security company based in Dallas, Texas, about a job in Haiti to provide private security for a client of the Bank of the Republic of Haiti for $1,000 a day. He said he didn't know the client until he arrived in Haiti on a commercial flight on Feb. 16 and was introduced to Josue Leconte, a Haitian-American businessman with ties to the Moise administration.
Leconte's civil engineering firm, Preble-Rish, has done millions of dollars of business with the Haitian government over the years, according to Jake Johnston, a research associate at the Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research who recently published a three-week investigation into the contractors' case. Leconte's partner is related by marriage to former president Martelly.
"These are not just acquaintances, but people who for decades are basically family," Johnston said. The only Haitian arrested in the case, Michael Estera, is a driver who has worked for Preble-Rish for many years, according to his lawyer.
Leconte told the AP when reached by phone that he could not talk about the case and had no comment before hanging up. Meanwhile, spokesman Jean Baden Dubois said the governor of Haiti's central bank was on a business trip in Qatar and unavailable for comment.
The contractors were told that they would be escorting Leconte from his Port-au-Prince home to the central bank to sign an infrastructure deal with Moise's administration, Osman said, adding that the deal required the signature of at least one high-ranking central bank official, hence the location.
"We were all told that it was a huge contract with (Leconte's) company ... and that his company provides engineering contracts for the government of Haiti and that they were really close friends with the president and that the money was for infrastructure and rebuilding Haiti," Osman said.
On the day they were arrested, the group of four Americans, two Serbian nationals and two Haitian drivers got into two cars owned by Jean-Louis for a reconnaissance mission and to swing by the bank so some team members could talk to people there and let them know what they were doing, he said.
"The actual job didn't even start until the next day," Osman said, adding that he never met or saw Jean-Louis during his time in Haiti, and that the only time he heard the name was when police asked if he knew Jean-Louis while he was in jail.
He said team members Dustin Porte and Talon Ray Burton got out of the car to speak with bank officials or security while the rest of the group stayed inside with weapons nearby. Porte and Burton could not be reached for comment, and Burton's brother did not return a message for comment.
As they pulled away from the bank, Osman said a group of Haitian police officers stopped them and called their superiors. At that moment, Leconte and another man whom Osman identified as team leader and retired Navy SEAL Mike Phillips showed up in one car, and then Kroeker showed up in another car. Osman said police told Leconte and Phillips they could leave, and that Kroeker, a former KC-130 pilot, stayed with the group.
"They literally abandoned us," Osman said of Leconte and Phillips.
Phillips declined to comment and referred requests for interviews to Kroeker, who did not respond to a request for comment.
The group was released Feb. 20. Osman said a police officer simply opened the cell doors, led them to diplomatic vehicles that took them to the airport. He said he didn't know who ordered their release or authorized it. Once they arrived in Miami, he said the FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security interviewed everyone separately for several hours.
"We asked what was going on," Osman said. "They said, 'Nothing, man, you're not going to be charged with anything. ... Welcome home.'"
Haiti's tourism industry hard hit after days of violent street protests
PORT-AU-PRINCE (AFP) - With flaming barricades and widespread looting, 10 days of street violence in Haiti have all but buried a tourism industry that managed to resurrect itself after a devastating earthquake in 2010.
Ugly, violent footage beamed around the world has again sent the message that this impoverished Caribbean country is politically unstable and no place to go on vacation.
The final straw was the helicopter evacuation last week of around 100 Canadian tourists, trapped as angry protesters demanded the resignation of the president, whom they accuse of corruption.
"We have been through 12 days of hell. We managed the crisis but today we are suffering from the aftershocks," said Tourism Minister Marie-Christine Stephenson.
BLACKLIST
Beside the direct effects of the demonstrations, the United States delivered another crushing blow on Feb 14 when it urged its citizens not to travel to Haiti, which thus joined a no-go list with war-torn countries like Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan.
Ms Stephenson said the US travel alert for Haiti was too harsh, calling the riots something that flared up unexpectedly and are now over.
"OK, they lasted 12 days but I am not sure that other Caribbean countries, which have had riots of their own, have been punished as severely and quickly as we have," said the minister.
Overnight, the decision by the US State Department hit the tourism industry hard. Travel websites simply stopped offering flights to Haiti's two international airports.
Hotels are reporting cancellation of reservations and many empty rooms.
Officials in the industry have yet to tally up the damage, but say that for the second time in less than a year, they will have to lay off workers.
In July of last year, three days of riots over a government attempt to raise fuel prices ruined the summer vacation season for Haiti's tourism industry.
It is not just hotels that will suffer again, said Ms Beatrice Nadal-Mevs, president of the Haitian Tourism Association.
"This is going to affect everyday people because these are direct jobs that are going to be lost and supply chains will be threatened: farming, fishing, crafts, transport," Ms Nadal-Mevs said.
MARDI GRAS CANCELLED
With the opposition planning more demonstrations to seek the resignation of President Jovenel Moise, the sector got yet more bad news with word that Carnival celebrations have been called off in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince.
City Hall said it could not guarantee revellers' safety.
The festivities, which this year were planned for March 3-5, usually draw many Haitians living abroad and fleeing the winter cold in Canada and the eastern US.
Another major Carnival celebration is scheduled to take place in the city of Gonaives, but the government has not said if it will go ahead.
As grim as things are, some foreign tourists have gone ahead with visits to Haiti.
On Wednesday, a group of Australians under police escort visited a square featuring statues of heroes of Haiti's independence from France. Days ago, demonstrators at the same plaza were throwing rocks at police, who responded with volleys of tear gas grenades.
A woman named Carole, who did not want to give her last name, said, "I trust the company we're travelling with. They not only want to take us but they want to bring us back."
Mr Kevin McCue, another of the people in the group of 20, said he was glad that their tour operator had not opted for Plan B, which would have meant skipping Haiti and spending the whole week in the neighbouring Dominican Republic.
"Tourism is alive and well here. People should come. The more they come, the better they spread some money among people who need it and the better for Haiti," said Mr McCue.
Haiti's President Says He Won't Step Down as Violent Protests Grip the Capital
Haiti’s embattled leader has made his first public statements since protests rocked the Caribbean nation’s capital more than a week ago, vowing in a televised address that he will not step down.
Voice of America reports that President Jovenal Moise appeared on national television Thursday to address calls for his for resignation. Critics claim his government lacks transparency and is ineffective.
“I hear you,” Moise said in a speech aired by national broadcaster TNH and live-streamed on Facebook. “You are the reason I ran for president. I’m working for you.”
Over the past eight days, protesters have taken to the streets of the capital Port-au-Prince and other cities to denounce what they say is rampant corruption in the country.
At least nine people have been killed amid the violent unrest, according to Al Jazeera. In the southern port city of Aquin, 78 inmates broke out of a prison while police were dealing with protesters, the Guardian reports.
Current and former government officials have been accused of misappropriating Venezuelan loans meant for development after 2008, according to the BBC.
Soaring inflation has also led to worsening living conditions for the population, 60% of whom live on less than $2 a day.
Moise said in his address that he had taken measures to improve the lives of Haitians, urging patience for reforms to take effect. He has reportedly called for dialogue with the opposition, to no avail.
Protesters appeared unmoved by the president’s speech and some were back on the streets shortly after.
The U.S. Department of State has raised its travel alert for Haiti to level 4. “Do not travel due to crime and civil unrest,” the Bureau of Consular Affairs advised on its website.
Moise has been in power since his electoral victory in November 2016. Previously a little-known entrepreneur, he campaigned on a promise of addressing climate change and corruption, as well as modernizing the agricultural industry to provide more jobs for citizens.
GOP Rep. Mark Sanford: Haitian babies born in US don’t deserve birthrights because they are not ‘former slaves’
Outgoing South Carolina Republican Rep. Mark Sanford on Wednesday insisted that some babies born in the U.S. — from places like Haiti — do not deserve to be granted birthright citizenship because the 14th Amendment was only intended to apply to descendants of slaves.During a discussion on MSNBC about President Donald Trump’s plan to end birthright citizenship, Sanford argued that the constitution did not apply to immigrants when it said all “persons” born in the U.S. have the right to be citizens.“What do you make of the suggestion that birthright citizenship can be revoked with the stroke of a pen?” MSNBC host Craig Melvin asked the South Carolina Republican.“I would find that hard to believe,” Sanford replied. “I’m not a fan of birthright citizenship. But I think it’s much more complex than the stroke of a pen.”“Why are you not a fan of it?” Melvin wondered. “You do recognize that it’s in enshrined in the Constitution, the Fourteenth Amendment?”“I happen to be [co-sponsoring] a bill that would say otherwise,” Sanford stuttered. “I think there are a number of folks who have said that particular interpretation is not really what the founding fathers intended.”“The idea that you just happen to come in from Haiti or anywhere else and because you get your boat to shore, all the sudden you are open to the same rights and privileges that anybody else is, I think that’s at odds with the intent,” he continued. “I think it was ultimately about slavery at that time and rights that should come to former slaves. But we’ll leave that to legal experts.”The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, however, does not mention slavery as a requirement for bestowing citizenship rights on people born in the U.S.Section 1 states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”Sanford, who lost his seat in this year’s Republican primary, also said that he could not condemn the alleged racism of Rep. Steve King (R-IA) because he has been “focused on shutting down the office here.”Watch the video below from MSNBC.https://twitter.com/r35i5t/status/1057718366516011009?s=21By: David Edwards for rawstory.com | October 27, 2018
Haiti: Top Officials Fired After Anti-Corruption Protests
Haitian President Jovenel Moise removed Monday two top government officials in a purge of people linked to a corruption scandal that sparked violent mass protests last week, Channel News Asia reported.
The cabinet chief and the secretary general of the presidency were fired from their posts along with 15 government advisers, according to an official announcement.
These firings follow a report compiled in August by the Haitian Senate that called for charges to be brought against two former prime ministers and several other government officials for alleged embezzlement of US$3.8 billion, abuse of power and forgery in connection with a Venezuelan oil loan program.
PetroCaribe, a Venezuelan-led oil alliance between the South American nation and Caribbean countries, was funneling money into Haitian government coffers. But the Haitian Senate’s report follows up parliamentary investigation into whether the PetroCaribe funds were then misspent by previous administrations.
“To have a healthy process, the president has decided to rid the environment of people linked to Petrocaribe without admitting they are guilty of anything,” Prime Minister Jean-Henry Ceant said at a news conference this week.
Haiti’s citizens remain outraged by the lack of arrests and the slow pace of the investigations. Last week at least two people were killed and dozens were injured as anti-corruption protesters numbering in the thousands surged through the streets of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.
A police spokesman said 11 civilians were injured by bullets and 11 officers by flying rocks, but other officials reported higher civilian injuries.
The protests were kicked off by a photo tweeted by Haitian filmmaker and writer Gilbert Mirambeau Jr. showing him blindfolded and holding a cardboard sign reading “Where is the PetroCaribe money?” in Creole.
The social media campaign, called the #petrocaribechallenge, has spread like wildfire throughout Haiti, one of the poorest nations in the world.
“We are fed up with what’s going on,” said Mirambeau, 35. “It’s like we have a knife under our throats, and are looking at the government and not doing anything.”
Some marchers were heard calling for the resignation of President Jovenel Moise, who took office in February 2017 and whom many accuse of thwarting the PetroCaribe investigation.
In response to the protests, both Moise and Prime Minister Ceant reasserted their commitment to investigating the alleged embezzlement.
“No one will escape justice. It is a moral duty and a righteousness,” Moise tweeted on Thursday.
“We are going to create an independent commission to investigate the truth of Petrocaribe,” Ceant told journalists.
Councilman Eugene celebrates Haiti Day
Councilman Mathieu Eugene (D–Flatbush) celebrated New York City Haitian Day at Bowling Green in Lower Manhattan on Oct. 6. Students, clergy, and local community leaders joined the Flatbush politician for a flag raising ceremony of the Haitian banner, honoring the Haitian soldiers that fought for American independence.The councilman said the celebratory day acknowledges the importance of Haitians in American history in current times, and in the past.“Today we are going to celebrate the contribution of Haitians to American history, and we’re also going to celebrate the contributions of Haitians who currently live in the United States to the fabric of America,” he said.Two years ago, City Council passed into legislation a resolution designating Oct. 9 as Haitian Day. It marks a significant date in Haitian and American history, commemorating the Battle of Savannah — an important combat during the American Revolution that more than 500 Haitian troops participated in.Eugene said this fun fact of history was a moment of pride for Haitians everywhere, and should be recognized by the global community.“This is such a wonderful moment, not only for Haitian people, but also for the friends of Haitians, and for people from the United States and those residing all over the world,” he said.By: ALEXANDRA SIMON | Caribbean Life | October 9, 2018
New Prime Minister Announced in Haiti Weeks After Deadly Protests
(CNN) Haitian President Jovenel Moise announced on Sunday that Jean-Henry Céant will be the nation's new prime minister.
Haiti's Prime Minister Resigns After Riots Over Fuel Price Hike
Haiti's Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant resigned Saturday after days of riots sparked by a plan to raise prices on fuel.Haitian President President Jovenel Moïse said on Twitter that he had accepted Lafontant's resignation as well as members of his cabinet. Moïse said he would work to choose a new prime minister.Lafontant, a doctor who only took up the job of prime minister in early 2017, resigned shortly before a no-confidence vote was to be called in Haiti's parliament, which could have led to his removal from office.Reports differ on how many people have been killed in riots — at least two, three or seven — that happened over the last weekend. Demonstrators reportedly blocked roads, burned tires and vandalized shops.The government announced on Friday, July 6 that prices would go up the following day by 38 percent for gasoline, 47 percent for diesel and 51 percent for kerosene.By the following day, Lafontant said the price rises would be suspended, and said the government "strongly condemns the acts of violence and vandalism" that happened after the initial announcement was made.The price increases were part of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, which often requires countries to implement economic reforms in exchange for access to funds. The Haitian government signed an agreement earlier this year with the IMF to gain access to $96 million in loans and grants, according to the Miami Herald.The Herald reports that for the past week, Lafontant "had refused calls to step down from business and opposition groups, which accused the government of mishandling the double-digit fuel increase that its ministers announced with little notice."Haiti's government subsidizes the cost of fuel in the country. The World Bank said in a report last year that the richest 20 percent of Haitians were receiving 93 percent of the subsidies and that the country was spending 2.2 percent of its GDP on subsidies in 2014.But the price hikes were too much to bear for many in one of the world's poorest countries. The World Bank says the majority of Haitians, about 59 percent, make less than the equivalent of $2.41 per day.The IMF said Thursday that it still supports removing subsidies as a way to give the government funding for social services, but advised doing so more gradually.The U.S. State Department issued a "do not travel" warning for U.S. citizens on July 9 over what it called "widespread civil unrest and violent demonstrations in Haiti. Protests, tire burning, and road blockages are frequent and unpredictable."By: James Doubek for NPR.org| July 15, 2018
Haiti Unrest Leaves US Missionaries Stranded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4mncxTJcDo(CNN)A number of US missionary groups are stranded in Haiti after protesters took to the streets following a fuel price hike ordered by the government.
Burning barricades
Waiting it out
Canceled flights
HAITI IS REBUILDING A BRAND NEW ARMY DESPITE ITS HISTORY OF COUPS
Haiti hasn't had a military since 1995, when it was disbanded after a series of coups, brutal crackdowns, and an American intervention. But now, officials there say it's time for a comeback.Last year, President Jovenel Moïse declared that the Caribbean's poorest nation would be reconstituting its army, just in time for the drawdown of United Nations troops, who have been part of the Haitian security landscape for years.For the past two decades, responsibility for law and order has largely fallen to the country's National Police, a force that is heavily funded, and heavily vetted, by the U.S.According to official polls, the renewed army has the support of the majority of the population, where the U.N. is widely seen more as a force of instability and foreign control, rather than peace.But on a recent visit to the country, VICE News learned that many Haitians remain deeply skeptical of the plan.Mario Joseph, a leading human rights lawyer in the capital, Port-au-Prince, says the military brings back dreadful memories. And the decision by authorities to reappoint many of the original officers to the new High Command has only reinforced his concerns."This is an army that was re-formed — that's it," Joseph told VICE News. "It's not a new army."The question facing Haitian officials is whether they can really make peace with the troubles of the past, or if they are simply hoping to turn the page."I can understand, you know, for some people there's some concern," said Herve Denis, the Haitian Minister of Defense. "But I said, 'Watch us. You will see that we are doing the best for the country.'"But in a country already strapped for cash, and barely recovered from a 2010 earthquake that left thousands of people dead and much of Port-au-Prince in ruin, it's hard to know where the money for an army would come from. Watch as Haitians discuss the plans for a new army:By Joshua Hersh and Harriet Dedman | Vice News | Jul 5, 2018
Former Haitian President, Coup Leader Dies
PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti (CMC) — Former Haitian coup leader, Lieutenant General Henri Namphy is dead.Namphy died on Tuesday in the neighbouring Dominican Republic following a battle with lung cancer.Namphy, who lived in exile in the Dominican Republic, headed Haiti's military-dominated government after the fall of the Duvalier family dictatorship.He became head of the interim National Council of Government that took charge of Haiti in 1986 when Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier fled into exile in France.He also served as president before he was ousted in a coup in 1988.His presidency lasted only last three months, and after being ousted he fled to the Dominican Republic.He was 85.By: JamaicanObserver.com | June 27, 2018
Dominican Senator and His Businesses Sanctioned by the US Under Global Magnitsky
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a press release whereby they've "sanctioned Dominican Republic Senator Felix Ramon Bautista Rosario (Bautista) for engaging in corrupt acts, including in relation to reconstruction efforts in Haiti. “These actions are part of our continuing campaign to hold accountable government officials and other actors involved in human rights abuse and corrupt activities. Senator Bautista used his position to engage in corruption, including profiting off of humanitarian efforts related to rebuilding Haiti..." said Sigal Mandelker, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. “The United States will continue to use Global Magnitsky and our other authorities to ensure that corrupt actors and human rights violators cannot use our financial system to enable and support their abhorrent activities and exploit the innocent.”According to the Department of Treasury, "Bautista is a Senator from the Dominican Republic who has engaged in significant acts of corruption in both the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and who has been publicly accused of money laundering and embezzlement. Bautista has reportedly engaged in bribery in relation to his position as a Senator, and is alleged to have engaged in corruption in Haiti, where he used his connections to win public works contracts to help rebuild Haiti following several natural disasters, including one case where his company was paid over $10 million for work it had not completed.In a related action, OFAC designated five entities in the Dominican Republic that are owned or controlled by Bautista: Constructora Hadom SA, Soluciones Electricas Y Mecanicas Hadom S.R.L., Seymeh Ingenieria SRL, Inmobiliaria Rofi SA, and Constructora Rofi SA.The law also requires the Secretary of State to publicly or privately designate such officials and their family members. In addition to the designation of Senator Bautista, the Department is also publicly designating his spouse, Sarah Haydee Rojas Pena, their minor children, and his other children including Felix Ramon Bautista Abreu, Felix Jose Bautista Abreu, Felix Augusto Bautista Abreu, Felix Miguel Bautista Soler, Felix Fidel Bautista Grullon, and Yanilssa Bautista Bencosme.See full press release from The U.S. Department of the Treasury | June 12, 2018
Haiti excluded from White House reception of 'like-minded' friends on Venezuela
Vice President Mike Pence greets members of the audience at a reception for the Organization of American States in the Indian Treaty Room at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Monday, June 4, 2018, as the Trump administration renewed its call Monday for the Organization of American States to suspend Venezuela and for other members to step up pressure on the country's government to restore constitutional order. Andrew Harnik AP Photo
WASHINGTONThe government of Haiti was not invited to a special White House reception Monday night for “like-minded” governments who are standing with the United States in a call to suspend Venezuela from the Organization of American States.Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen invited a group of more than 22 countries' leaders to the White House for a cocktail reception. Mike Pence described the gathering as a “small token of appreciation” for support on such a challenging issue in the hemisphere.“I’ll make a promise to you,” Pence said. “Stand with us and know we’ll stand with you. Work with us and we will work with you.”Haiti was noticeably absent from the reception that also included top ranking members of the National Security Council and State Department as well as the Secretary General of the OAS Luis Almagro.It was a clear indication that despite considerable pressure in recent days by the administration and an April meeting between Haitian President Jovenel Moïse and Florida Republican and Venezuela hardliner Sen. Marco Rubio that the country had not caved and would not be supporting the U.S. toughening position on the Maduro regime.Held in conjunction with the 48th annual OAS General Assembly, Pence used the reception to call on allies to kick Venezuela out of the United Nations-like organization for the hemisphere.Carlos Trujillo, the U.S. ambassador to the OAS, said Haiti and others who backed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro were intentionally left off the invitation list.“We did not invite any countries that recognize the Maduro regime as legitimate,” Trujillo said.Haiti has been under considerable pressure by the United States to change its stance from abstention to expulsion. But based on the speech Monday from its foreign minister, Antonio Rodrigue, it doesn’t appear that the Trump administration succeeded.While Caribbean ministers for the most part made no mention of the Venezuelan crisis in their interventions, Rodrigue pushed for dialogue with Venezuela and respect for all nations’ sovereignty and independence.“It is obvious to us that the Venezuelans themselves must resolve their problem. It’s the only way to a sustainable and lasting solution,” Rodrigue said.Among those who did receive invites were Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Guyana. But notably several Caribbean nations who have also been sympathetic to Venezuela were also invited, including Jamaica, Saint Lucia and Saint Kitts and Nevis.Tuesday’s vote will be a significant test for the Latin American and Caribbean diplomats who have been reluctant to take punitive measures against one of their own.“Whether the OAS takes this step will speak volumes about its relevance in the 21st Century — and it will make clear which nations in our hemisphere truly stand for freedom,” Pence said.Venezuela's subsidized oil export program, Petrocaribe, has been a powerful tool that the Maduro government has used to wield political influence in the Caribbean.Caribbean and Latin American nations such as Haiti, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Nicaragua receive billions in cheap loans for oil. And in return, they have helped Maduro retain crucial diplomatic support and block hemispheric efforts to punish the regime.Moïse also currently serves as chair of the 15-member Caribbean Community regional bloc known as Caricom. While Caricom usually votes as a bloc on international issues, members have increasingly been divided over the Venezuelan issue.One observer noted those divisions are likely to continue should the issue go for a vote with some Caribbean countries voting for, others against and others abstaining.During a meeting of Caribbean ministers on Sunday, Rodrigue gave no indication of Haiti’s position, leading many to wonder if the country, an ally of the U.S. with a $2 billion debt to Venezuela, would switch its stance.Trujillo was not unsympathetic, but said the United States hoped Haiti would recognize the worsening conditions in Venezuela.“They’re in a difficult position,” Trujillo said of Haiti. “They have two friends, the United States and Venezuela. They have $2 billion in external debt that is due to the government of Venezuela but we’re hopeful that the government of Haiti will make the right decision. It’s a country that has suffered a lot.”By: Franco Ordoñez And Jacqueline Charles for mcclatchydc.com | June 4, 2018
Taiwan to loan ally Haiti $150 million amid China onslaught
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan plans to lend ally Haiti $150 million for infrastructure development in a bid to shore up relations amid a renewed diplomatic onslaught by rival China that has stripped it of two foreign allies in the past month.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrew Lee said Thursday the aid was aimed at developing rural power grids in the impoverished Caribbean nation that is still recovering from a devastating 2010 earthquake.
“This provides a win-win situation to help a diplomatic ally with a major infrastructure development project and also creates overseas business opportunities for Taiwanese companies,” Lee was quoted as saying by the official Central News Agency.
Haiti is one of just 18 countries that continue to recognize self-ruling democratic Taiwan after the Dominican Republic and Burkina Faso switched ties to Beijing last month.
China claims Taiwan as its own territory and opposes any recognition of the island as an independent state.
Beijing has been steadily increasing pressure on Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen over the past two years following her refusal to acknowledge the “one-China principle” under which China defines Taiwan as a Chinese province. The sides split amid civil war in 1949 and China threatens to use force to grain control over the island.
Along with diplomatic pressure, Beijing has cut the numbers of Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan and increased naval and air force patrols around the island in recent months.
Tsai’s administration has remained defiant however, and has received support from Washington in the form of defense assistance and the planned opening this month of a new de-facto U.S. embassy in the capital Taipei.
Taiwan Welcomes Haiti President as China Chips Away at Allies
Haiti maintains ties with Taiwan at Beijing's expense
Haiti confirmed Wednesday it would maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a day after the neighboring Dominican Republic established relations with China."Every country is moving in one direction or another, but for now, it is with Taiwan that Haiti has diplomatic relations," said Haitian communications minister Guyler C. Delva in a press conference."Taiwan is a partner that helps us in different areas and we can say that it is a good partner that supports the government," he added.In signing an agreement with China Tuesday, the Dominican Republic broke off its ties with Taiwan -- a prerequisite imposed by Beijing.China and Taiwan have been ruled by rival regimes since the end of the civil war in 1949. The latter is governed autonomously but has never declared independence -- while Beijing considers it a province to be returned to its control.Now, they are locked in a battle of influence often nicknamed "checkbook diplomacy" -- and Haiti's decision to maintain relations with Taiwan raises questions about possible missed development opportunities.Beijing reportedly offered the Dominican Republican investments and loans to the tune of $3 billion -- and to some, Taiwan's $150 million loan to develop rurual power grids in Haiti pales in comparison.The Dominican Republic is the latest nation -- after Gambia, Sao Tome and Panama -- to cut ties with Taipei in favor of Beijing. Meanwhile, Haiti is among 19 countries to officially recognize Taiwan.By: AFP via Dailymail.co.uk | May 2, 2018