Haiti: Police Seek Killers of SWAT Officer

On Thursday, the Haitian National Police (HNP) is on the trail of the perpetrators of an attack against a SWAT Team agent, who was gunned down in the capital.

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The gang members, whose name is unknown at this time, opened fire on Lector Roobens, a member of the 31st promotion of this specialized police force.

Roobens was shot eight times and died in the hospital where he was rushed, said the National Union of Haitian Policemen.

Recently, the general coordinator of the HNP Union, Lionel Lazarre, strongly criticized the Prime Minister of the Caribbean country, Ariel Henry, whom he accused of negligence.

The tweet reads, "Haiti-Criminality: SWAT TEAM agent shot 8 times in Port-au-Prince."

Lazarre commented that many policemen fled their homes for fear of reprisals from the gangs, and today they sleep in police stations with their families, and not even a subsidy is granted by the State.

"If the government had the will and was concerned about solving security problems, it would not have asked for the support of an international force, but would have invested in the purchase of material," Lazarre said.

Haiti's National Police Union reported that 1,800 police officers fled the country last year, another factor that makes it impossible to provide an effective response to criminal gangs.

Lazarre said that up to October there were 1,600 and between November and December there were 200 more.

He pointed out that 39 policemen died naturally and 37 were killed by armed gangs in 2023, and in the last two years the number of officers lost is 1,950.

The police officers, who work in extremely difficult conditions, with a lack of prospects, are mostly seeking to take advantage of the humanitarian parole program of the U.S. government.

The union demanded psychological attention for this sector, the most exposed in the fight against armed groups in the Caribbean country.

According to a union communiqué, the physical, psychological and emotional state of the agents suffer the impact of the harsh reality of the moment.

"The union urges the high command to investigate the cases of agents in need of mental health assistance to help them continue working to restore peace in the city," the text stresses.

The union also demanded the delivery of adequate and sufficient materials to continue fighting against the growing insecurity, and better working conditions for the agents.

In particular, for those who abandoned their neighborhoods invaded by bandits.