Blinken visits Haiti, discusses gang violence

By New York Carib NewsSecretary of State Antony Blinken visited Haiti to demonstrate American backing for an international initiative aimed at reducing gang-related violence in the Caribbean country.On September 5, 2024, Blinken landed in Port-au-Prince, where he presented a fresh round of assistance to refugees and met with interim prime minister Garry Conille.Blinken informed reporters, “At this critical moment, we do need more funding, we do need more personnel to sustain and carry out the objectives of this mission.”Since President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in July 2021, gangs have taken control of large areas of Haiti. Eighty percent of Port-au-Prince, the capital, is included in this estimate.Amidst its crisis of legitimacy, the Haitian government has found it difficult to retake power and preserve calm.The violence in Haiti has spread to ten departments, and the interim administration there widened the country’s state of emergency just one day before Blinken’s arrival.Before, the Ouest department—which includes Port-au-Prince—was the only territory covered by the state of emergency.However, a spokesman for Prime Minister Conille claimed that the enlarged emergency designation is a reflection of gang conflicts occurring in departments such as Artibonite, which is a sizable area that grows rice.The United Nations estimates that in...