Haiti: Another Week with Port and Airport Closed

May 6, 2024 Hour: 1:35 pm

On Monday, Haiti began another week with a port and its international airport closed due to the gang violence that is keeping the citizens of this capital city on edge.

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Haiti: Gangs Steal Several Fuel Tankers

A visible decrease in food products on supermarket shelves and in supermarket fridges is one of the consequences of the closure of the port terminal two months ago.

The port of the capital is inoperative due to the escalation of violence by the gang coalition.

In this context, the company Caribbean Port Services S.A., which operates the facility, suspended its activities.

According to a company statement, this decision was in response to the public order disturbances, malicious acts of sabotage and vandalism carried out by the gangsters.

URGENT: Help feed displaced Haitians! Violence in Port-au-Prince has forced many families to flee. Partnering with Wesleyan churches, we’re providing food. Donate now: https://t.co/Q6gEsoVwjL

UN Photo/Sophia Paris pic.twitter.com/6eRsvvU5ay

— World Hope International (@worldhopeorg)
May 3, 2024

The Haitian National Police tried twice to reclaim the area where Caribbean Port Services S.A. operates, but the area is still considered dangerous due to the presence of bandits, who prevent the movement of about three thousand containers.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) regretted the looting of one of its containers, from which vital products and materials for the health of children in this Caribbean country were taken.

In a preliminary assessment, one of the 17 containers containing maternal, neonatal and child survival items, including resuscitators and related equipment, was emptied.

For its part, the French shipping line CMA CGM – the third largest container carrier in the world – suspended its call at the port of the Haitian capital on 17 March until further notice.

Since 5 March, no vessel of any size has docked at the Port-au-Prince quay.

The Toussaint Louverture international airport completed on Saturday two months without civil aviation operations due to the chaos in the capital.

The demolition of houses near the perimeter fence of the airfield was the first step to ensure the safety of the terminal.

The authorities decided to begin with a first batch of 183 houses, and a protection cordon was established to undertake this task.

The Haitian National Police argue that the houses near the airport station represent a significant threat, as criminals could use them to carry out their attacks.

In a shooting incident in the area, a projectile hit a Sunrise Airways aircraft that was already in position on the tarmac to cover the Port-au-Prince-Havana, Cuba route on 29 February.

Likewise, the gang coalition was stationed for a long time waiting for former Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who travelled to Kenya to sign an agreement to send a multinational police force led by the African nation.

Henry travelled from Nairobi to the United States, and from there to Haiti, but was unable to enter the country and continued on to the Dominican Republic, where he was prevented from entering. He ended up living temporarily in Puerto Rico.

The thugs who to this day impede operations at Toussaint Louverture Airport in Haiti succeeded in getting Henry to resign.