Haïti à Travers les Pages

  Haiti’s State of Emergency: A Race Against Time Testing the Limits of Law in Urban Warfare By Patrick Prézeau Stephenson  (Le Français suit) PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — When the Haitian government declared a three-month state of emergency on August 9, 2025, it was not merely invoking a constitutional tool. It was, in effect, admitting that the normal machinery of governance had collapsed in the face of an urban war it could neither contain nor outlast. The measure, covering the West, Artibonite, and Centre regions — the breadbasket of the nation — comes at a time when armed groups have achieved not just territorial control but quasi-political authority. They levy taxes on roadways, regulate movement, and in some areas even stage public works, all while terrorizing residents through killings, kidnappings, and sexual violence. From a legal standpoint, Haiti’s Constitution does allow the executive to declare a state of emergency when national security is threatened. Yet th...

  Haiti’s Urban War, the OAS’s Peace Plan: Why a Police‑Only Roadmap Won’t Hold the Line By Patrick Prézeau Stephenson (Le Français suit) The Organization of American States’ July 2025 roadmap for Haiti reads like a careful development compact: strengthen the Haitian National Police (HNP), tighten borders, revive courts, restore services, seed jobs, coordinate aid. On paper, it is sensible and humane. On the streets of Port‑au‑Prince, it is insufficient. The plan omits the one ingredient that Haiti’s capital‑city reality now demands: a credible, resourced, and accountable kinetic security component able to fight an urban war—because that is what Haiti faces. The reality the roadmap sidesteps Haiti’s gangs are no longer atomized neighborhood crews. They are networked, politically connected, transnationally supplied, and tactically adaptive. They control and contest terrain, use combined arms (rifles, IEDs, commercial drones with explosive payloads), dig trenches, cut lines o...

  U.S. Labels Haitian Gangs as Foreign Terrorist Organizations — A Policy Shift we Long Argued Was Inevitable By Patrick Prézeau Stephenson (Le Français suit) Port-au-Prince, Haiti — April 19, 2025. In a sweeping move that reshapes the U.S. approach to Haiti’s security crisis, the Trump administration has announced plans to formally designate Haiti’s most powerful criminal networks—including the infamous Viv Ansanm coalition and the rural-based Gran Grif armed group—as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) [1]. As one of the earliest analysts to publicly argue that these gangs met the threshold for terrorism, I believe this decision—though politically fraught—is long overdue. The implications are profound. Under the new classification, the U.S. will be able to pursue not only gang members but also those who enable them—from arms traffickers and money launderers to complicit Haitian politicians and business elites. Anyone found providing "material support" to these groups wi...

  Is Haiti Ready to Pay the Price for Its Own Bukele Option? By Patrick Prézeau Stephenson (Le Français suit) In the depths of its current crisis, Haiti stands at a defining moment. With armed gangs controlling vast swaths of urban centers and rural enclaves, traditional approaches to governance and diplomacy have proven inadequate. The call for a decisive, militarized strategy—what some term Haiti’s “Bukele option,” inspired by El Salvador’s aggressive crackdown on gangs under President Nayib Bukele—presents both an opportunity and a challenge for Haitian diplomacy[1]. The Bukele Model: Lessons for Haiti El Salvador’s dramatic transformation from a gang-ridden state to a relatively secure nation under Bukele has captured global attention. His strategy has combined: 1. Relentless Urban Warfare Tactics: Deploying heavily armed security forces to dismantle gang strongholds. 2. Mass Incarceration: Constructing mega-prisons to detain thousands of gang members without bail. 3. Nar...

 The International Community’s Stance on Haiti and the Way Forward By Patrick Prézeau Stephenson (Le Français suit) Background Haiti’s escalating security crisis has once again brought its plight to the forefront of international deliberations. Gangs now control approximately 85% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and have extended their grip to surrounding areas, severely compromising the country’s stability. Amid this backdrop, a Kenya-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission was deployed under U.N. Security Council Resolution 2699 in October 2023 to assist the Haitian National Police (HNP) in regaining control. However, despite some progress, the mission faces severe funding and resource shortfalls, leading to calls for its transformation into a U.N. peacekeeping operation [1]. The Debate at the U.N. Security Council On November 20, 2024, the Security Council convened to discuss a U.S.-led proposal, backed by Ecuador, to transition the MSS mission into a U.N. peacekeeping o...