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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
New leadership appointed in Haiti as gangs threaten to overthrow
government
Story by Associated Press
Updated:
10:53 PM EDT, Thu August 7, 2025
Source: AP
A wealthy businessman on Thursday became the head of Haiti’s
transitional presidential council tasked with restoring order in the
troubled country as a top gang leader underscored the challenges facing
the nation by vowing to overthrow the government.
Laurent Saint-Cyr’s appointment at the council’s heavily guarded
office in the capital, Port-au-Prince, where criminal gangs control
90% of the neighborhoods, marked the first time that members of
Haiti’s private sector serve in both the rotating presidency and the
post of prime minister, two positions that share the country’s
executive duties.
Saint-Cyr had his start at a local insurance company while Haiti’s
current prime minister once ran an internet firm.
“Our country is going through one of the greatest crises in all its
history,” Saint-Cyr said as he was sworn in. “It’s not the time
for beautiful speeches. It’s time to act.”
Gang leader issues a warning
Hours earlier, a powerful gang federation that has long denounced
Haiti’s oligarchs threatened to overthrow the government, and gunfire
erupted in parts of the capital.
In a video posted on social media, Viv Ansanm gang leader Jimmy
Chérizier — better known as “Barbecue” — warns residents to
give his armed group free passage through neighborhoods to reach the
council’s office.
“People of Haiti, take care of yourselves and help us … in the
battle to free the country,” Chérizier says, wearing a bulletproof
vest and with an automatic rifle slung around his shoulder.
A UN-backed mission led by Kenyan police said in a statement that
officers thwarted potential attacks by around-the-clock patrols and by
boosting the number of armed forces in certain neighborhoods and around
critical infrastructure.
“Armed gangs had plotted to disrupt national stability and render the
country ungovernable,” it said.
A call for order
Saint-Cyr thanked all national and international actors who have helped
Haiti, as well as the private sector, which he called the engine of the
country’s economy. He noted that while he’s from the private
sector, he would serve all people equally.
Saint-Cyr previously served as president of the American Chamber of
Commerce in Haiti and of the country’s Chamber of Commerce and
Industry. He’ll be working with Prime Minister Alix Didier
Fils-Aimé, a one-time president of an internet company in Haiti and
also a former president of the country’s Chamber of Commerce and
Industry.
Saint-Cyr said security was a priority. He called on the armed forces
to intensify their operations and on international partners to send
more soldiers, offer more training and help boost a mission lacking
resources and personnel.
“We must restore state authority,” he said. “The challenges we
face are certainly linked to insecurity, but they also are the result
of our lack of courage, a lack of vision and our irresponsibility.”
He questioned what was preventing the government from offering services
Haitians deserve, including health and education. “Mister prime
minister, assume your responsibilities!” he said.
Meanwhile, 58 organizations from countries that include the United
States in a letter to Saint-Cyr accused the council of violating its
legal obligations to Haiti’s women and girls.
“Collective rape is endemic,” they said, noting that sexual
violence has surged as gangs persist in their rampage. The
organizations also accused Haiti’s government of being “completely
absent” at shelters where rape survivors need basic services.
A growing number of people have grumbled about Haiti’s private sector
leading the country. Some of Haiti’s wealthy elites and powerful
politicians have long been accused of financing and arming dozens of
gangs.
“The elites have always wanted power, and they have always wanted to
control Haiti, and now they’re in control,” said Marline
Jean-Pierre, a 44-year-old teacher who braved gunfire to visit a friend
at a hospital in downtown Port-au-Prince.
She said she has lost hope that things will change, accusing former
council presidents of making promises they didn’t keep.
“Nothing really happened,” she said. “Young women are being
raped, families are being dismantled.”
However, dozens of Haitians wearing white T-shirts and clutching signs
emblazoned with Saint-Cyr’s photograph gathered outside the
council’s office to support him.
Skirmishes broke out hours later between supporters and those who
opposed Saint-Cyr.
“Even though he’s a mulatto with good hair, he’s Haitian,” one
supporter said of Saint-Cyr, who is part of the country’s small and
powerful lighter-skinned elite — as is Fils-Aimé.
‘Remain on guard!’
As the country prepared for Saint-Cyr’s swearing-in ceremony,
Haitians posted a flurry of warnings about violence in hopes that
people could remain safe.
“Those of you in the capital, you will hear gunshots both ahead of
you and behind you. Remain on guard!” one message stated.
Tripotay Lakay, a local news site, reported that one person was killed
and another injured while driving into Port-au-Prince on Thursday,
though it was unclear how that happened. A video posted on social media
shows a woman’s body slumped in the car.
Heavy gunfire around downtown Port-au-Prince persisted on Tuesday
afternoon, with local media reporting that several people were wounded.
Small explosions from police-manned drones also were heard.
Violence also was reported in Kenscoff, a once peaceful farming area
above the hills of Port-au-Prince.
The UN-backed mission said it lost two armored vehicles after they
became trapped in trenches dug out by gangs. It said Kenyan policemen
came under an attack with Molotov cocktails but “courageously held
their ground, inflicting significant damage on the assailants.” Three
officers received minor injuries.
Videos posted on social media show suspected gang members laughing and
cheering as they surrounded one of the armored vehicles that was later
set on fire.
“Come get it back if you can!” one gunman is heard jeering.
A plea for more officers
In a report released Thursday, the UN-backed mission noted that it has
991 personnel, far less than the 2,500 envisioned, and some $112
million in its trust fund — about 14% of the estimated $800 million
needed a year.
The mission said it has no air support for operations and that only 200
officers can be deployed at a time because of insufficient equipment,
including vehicles.
The mission also noted that the government remains fragile: “Partisan
infighting within the transitional government has had the effect of
paralyzing the government and emboldening the gangs.”
Gangs in Kenscoff recently from an orphanage, including an Irish
missionary and a 3-year-old child. They remain missing.
Violence surged in the aftermath of the , and ongoing people in recent
years.
At least 1,520 people were killed and more than 600 injured from April
to the end of June across Haiti. More than 60% of the killings and
injuries occurred during operations by security forces against gangs,
with another 12% blamed on self-defense groups, according to the
United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti.
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