Living Together: The Gangs of Haiti - Part 1: The Death of a President

Part 1 - "The Death of a President"In July 2021, the President of Haiti, Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated as he slept at home by a band of mercenaries. His murder sparked a wave of violent protests and a period of unprecedented crisis in the small Caribbean nation that the country has still yet to address nearly four years later.For a long time, violent gangs were used by politicians to win elections, harass political opponents and stamp out opposition. But the political vacuum and ensuing chaos after the death of the President has seen their power grow immensely. They have committed horrendous atrocities against the population that control and each other.Massacres, extortion, mass rape, looting, and blockades have brought about a situation where gangs control an estimated 90% of the capital Port-au-Prince. It has created a humanitarian situation of catastrophic proportions, as over one-million Haitians have been internally displaced as a result of the violence.In Part 1 of Living Together: The Gangs of Haiti, we chart the fallout from the President's murder, the brutal expansion of the gangs power and influence, as well as the relationship between political and economic actors with those same gangs.SpeakersJacqueline Charles, Haiti/Caribbean Correspondent, Miami Herald. Widlore Merancourt, Editor-in-chief for Ayibopost & reporter for the Washington Post on its Haiti coverageWilliam (Bill) G. O'Neill, UN Independent Expert on the Human Rights Situation in Haiti Romain Le Cour Grandmaison, Senior Expert, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized CrimeGITOC LinksThe GI-TOC Observatory of Violence and Resilience in HaitiWill the Artibonite massacre be a turning point in Haiti - https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/artibonite-massacre-haiti/Gangs of Haiti: Expansion, power and an escalating crisis - https://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GITOC-Gangs-of-Haiti.pdfViolence in Haiti: A continuation of politics by other means? - https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/violence-in-haiti-politics-crime-gangs/Additional Linkshttps://haitiantimes.com/fr/2021/07/27/gang-boss-leads-protest-rally-against-moise-assassination/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/07/24/haiti-held-hostagehttps://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210714-haiti-crime-boss-threatens-syrian-and-lebanese-businesses-following-presidents-assassination/https://www.nytimes.com/es/2021/07/13/espanol/haiti-soldados-colombianos.htmlhttps://haitiantimes.com/2023/12/20/haitian-senator-sentenced-moise-assassination/https://haitiantimes.com/2025/02/12/badio-denies-jovenel-moise-assassination/https://www.caribbean-council.org/ariel-henry-sworn-in-as-new-haitian-prime-minister/https://www.crisisgroup.org/latin-america-caribbean/haiti/handling-aftermath-haitis-presidential-assassinationhttps://www.independent.co.uk/news/charles-ap-jovenel-moise-haiti-portauprince-b2498871.htmlhttps://www.reuters.com/world/americas/haiti-moves-constitutional-referendum-september-2021-06-29/https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2021/0330/The-battle-for-democracy-goes-on-in-Haiti-as-Moise-gains-powerhttps://www.freedomskn.com/haiti-leader-urges-calm-requests-help-in-nations-crisis/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-56069575https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/09/haiti-police-say-26-colombians-two-us-haitians-took-part-in-jovenel-moise-assassination-presidenthttps://news.sky.com/story/wife-of-assassinated-haiti-president-jo