Description: Haiti’s gang crisis continues to exacerbate, with gangs now controlling the entirety of the country’s capital Port au Prince, while gang – related confrontations were also reported to have escalated in the southern parts of the country. According to UN assessments, the gangs in Haiti have started to insert themselves in the form of local government, offering indigenous administrative and public services, with the violence still transpiring. Reports of large armed confrontations between the national police and the gangs have increased from almost every part of the country as the Kenyan voluntary mission fails to subvert the constant offensives staged by several armed groups across the country. The humanitarian situation is also significantly aggravated with the growing refugee crisis, reported cases of sexual violence and targeted executions of people suspected to have supported the gangs in their activities. The UN has so far failed to deliver any concrete proposals for resolving the crisis, as several initiatives by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres were blocked from implementation.
Impact: The gangs in Haiti have accumulated substantial amount of territory under their control which enables them to develop diversified sources of revenue which further fuels their anti – establishment war and incites chaos and anarchy. The crisis is impacted by the dysfunctionality of international organizations such as the UN which is faced with severe funding shortages and has always been a playing field for influential global actors such as the US, China and Russia which are consistently blocking resolutions that support their national interests at the expense of damaging their adversaries. Haiti’s internal political struggle also fueled the escalating violence as different political camps sponsored various gang fractions in the battle for political dominance. The gangs have established a firm foothold in the country’s capital as they are expanding their activities across the entire territory of Haiti, threatening unprecedented levels of instability and humanitarian crises. The lack of international support and involvement indicates prolongation of armed violence and a more severe degree of the already devastating humanitarian crisis.