Mission Impossible: In Haiti, the Gangs Are Winning
NEED TO KNOW
Mission Impossible: In Haiti, the Gangs Are Winning
HAITI
The “Unknown Maroon,” a statue of a freedom fighter in downtown Port-au-Prince, is one of the only structures in the neighborhood that remains unscathed.
Surrounded by deserted, litter-filled streets, it stands as it has for 60 years near the bullet-ridden presidential palace, the supreme court, the army’s headquarters, and other public buildings.
But now, it’s obvious that it is on the front lines of a raging, undeclared war, where the only sounds on the streets are of gunfire.
“The whole downtown is inaccessible,” Frederick Mangonès, 79, the son of the statue’s late sculptor, Albert Mangonès, told the Guardian. “(I feel about the statue) the same way I feel about Haiti – very sad, and discouraged and angry.”
The statue is a monument to Haiti’s revolutionary fight for freedom – when, in 1804, former slaves successfully rebelled against their French colonizers. Now, it is witnessing another kind of battle – between the government and its citizens on one side and the criminal gangs that all but rule the country on the other.
The gangs are winning, say analysts.
Two weeks ago, for example, a powerful coalition of gangs called the Viv Ansanm (Living Together) launched fresh attacks on Haiti’s capital, driving dozens of families from their homes and students from their schools as police tried to hold the gunmen back, the Associated Press reported.
The next day, the gangs set fire to the premises of historic Radio Télévision Caraïbes, leaving the multistory building of the popular radio and television station, an institution in Haiti, charred by black smoke, the Miami Herald reported.
“They’re trying to take more areas, but police are there, making sure that doesn’t happen,” said Lionel Lazarre, deputy spokesman for Haiti’s National Police.
But the gangs already control 85 percent of Haiti’s capital. There isn’t a lot more to take.
Since the beginning of the year, the gangs have been escalating their attacks since a Haitian government task force began sending explosive drones into the gangs’ strongholds.
The attacks have closed down most key elements of a city: public offices, shops, even the country’s largest hospital.
Last summer, Kenya sent a United Nations-authorized security force of about 400 Kenyan police officers to help. The problem is that they are lacking staff, weapons, equipment, and funding. As a result, they have made little difference. Deaths from gang violence have increased since they arrived and they have gained more territory, according to a joint investigation by the New Humanitarian and Kenya’s Nation newspaper.
“The Kenya-led security support mission to Haiti is, at present, unfit for purpose,” the New Humanitarian wrote. “(But then), it was arguably mission impossible from the start.”
For example, the mission was initially supposed to deploy 2,500 officers and soldiers from multiple countries instead of just the 400 Kenyan police officers. Only 150 Guatemalan military police officers have joined them – in January – instead of hundreds of others from other countries who failed to honor their promises.
As a result, Haitian police and their Kenyan counterparts are outmanned and outgunned by the gangs, who have a seemingly endless supply of weapons and a home-turf advantage, analysts say.
Meanwhile, as a result of the crisis in the country, which has collapsed the economy, it’s become easy for the gangs to recruit among the young, who are unemployed and desperate. They recruit children, too, because 1.5 million of them have no schools to attend and nothing else to do.
The UN reported that minors now make up around half of the gang members after child recruitment rose by 70 percent in 2024 over 2023.
Adding to the violence is a growing vigilante movement known as the Bwa Kale: Its members kill those they suspect of being gang members and help police, who are desperate for the support. They shoot first and ask questions later.
The group, in turn, is infuriating the gangs, which conduct massacres in retaliation.
In the meantime, Haitians continue to survive, barely. About 700,000 people were displaced in 2024. About 40,000 more fled the capital in just three weeks earlier this year.
There are now “pockets of famine-like conditions” in some of the refugee camps set up for them, with half the country of 11 million people experiencing “acute food insecurity,” UN officials say. Part of the problem is that humanitarian aid can’t reach almost half of the population that needs it because of security issues: Gangs have fired on planes and helicopters, forcing the closure of the airport, and control the main roads. Meanwhile, almost no one in Haiti has access to healthcare anymore. The main hospitals and clinics have been attacked and closed.
In 2024, at least 5,600 people were killed in Haiti due to gang violence – about 1,000 more than in 2023 – and 2,212 were injured, according to UN officials.
“Haiti is in freefall – a nation teetering on the brink, said UN human rights official William O’Neill. “I hate to sound like a broken record, but the situation is more dire each time I go. Haiti’s survival is at stake.”
Meanwhile, there’s no one steering the country anymore.
In November, Haiti appointed a new prime minister, Alix Didier Fils-Aimé. His predecessor, Garry Conille, lasted just over five months. He was fired because of in-fighting over a bribery scandal involving members of the Transitional Presidential Council, a nine-person body created last year by Haiti’s appointed cabinet charged with carrying out presidential duties.
Haiti has not had a president since 2021, when President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated, an event that set off the downward spiral of the country. Elections haven’t been held since then mainly because gang control over much of Haiti makes fair elections impossible.
As a result, the country has no legitimate government, either federal or local, and every seat in Haiti’s parliament has been vacant since January 2023, when the lawmakers’ terms expired.
Conille and the council were tasked with preparing the country for elections in 2025. That doesn’t look possible anymore.
Police officer-cum warlord Jimmy Chérizier, also known as Barbecue, who leads Viv Ansanm, says he’s available to lead the country. It’s no surprise that he’s offering, say analysts, explaining that the gangs are really leading a rebellion, making no secret of the fact that they want to depose the government and take over.
Likening himself to Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara, Chérizier wants to participate in Haiti’s political transition. In January, he said his coalition of gangs has now become a political party.
In spite of the backlash, some politicians are taking him seriously.
Liné Balthazar, the president of the Haitian Tèt Kale party, said the country may have to resort to desperate measures to get out of the mess it is in. That means sleeping with the enemy.
“Let’s not lie to each other,” said Balthazar. “There is a phenomenon of illegal armed groups in the country. We must resolve this problem in an adult and pragmatic manner. No one is going to do it for us.”
THE WORLD, BRIEFLY
Japan’s Orders Dissolution of Unification Church
JAPAN
A Japanese court on Tuesday ordered the dissolution of the Japanese chapter of the Unification Church, a controversial religious sect that came under scrutiny after the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022, Agence France-Presse wrote.
The Tokyo district court ordered the government to revoke the church’s tax-exempt status, force it to liquidate its assets, and brand it as a harmful entity. However, the church is allowed to continue its religious practices in Japan.
“Its reputation will decline, and the number of followers will decrease,” said Katsuomi Abe, a lawyer who has represented former church members seeking compensation after making huge donations. “I don’t think any other organization has caused such damage (to Japanese society).”
Church officials said in a statement that they “take the decision very seriously” but “cannot accept it,” and plan to appeal.
Since Abe’s assassination, officials have been investigating the church.
Abe’s assassin, Tetsuya Yamagami, 44, confessed that he targeted Abe because of the politician’s ties with the church: Yamagami blamed it for bankrupting his family after his mother had donated $1 million to the church. He also blamed the church for neglect – his mother, he said, left him alone at home without food to attend church gatherings.
The church has faced repeated allegations of forcing its congregants to make enormous donations. It has also come under scrutiny for child neglect within its community, according to the BBC.
Founded in South Korea, the Unification Church, whose followers are nicknamed “Moonies” after its late founder, Sun Myung Moon, has denied the accusations and said the donations were legitimate. Even so, following Abe’s murder, church officials promised to curb “excessive” member donations.
Nearly 200 people interviewed by Japanese investigators say they were victimized by the church and forced to donate money. They have asked officials to retrieve for them compensation worth $38.5 million.
Peace-footing Around: Russia-Ukraine Talks Stall
UKRAINE/ RUSSIA
Efforts to secure a rapid ceasefire in Ukraine hit a snag Tuesday after 12 hours of closed-door negotiations between US and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia ended without a joint statement, while Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine continued despite an earlier agreement in principle to halt attacks on energy infrastructure, NBC News reported.
The talks in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, were expected to lead to a written declaration centered on a 30-day ceasefire. It did lead to an agreement on a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea to take effect after a number of sanctions on Russian food and fertilizer trade were lifted.
That includes allowing for the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a United Nations- and Turkey-brokered agreement that had allowed Ukraine to export grain through Black Sea ports during the early stages of the war.
Russia withdrew from the deal in 2023, claiming that Western nations did not uphold the parallel agreement to ease restrictions on Russian food and fertilizer exports.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said officials were still analyzing reports from negotiators, adding that the “content of these talks will not be made public for sure,” according to ABC News.
Russian envoy Grigory Karasin called the discussions “detailed and complex but quite useful.” US officials were reportedly more optimistic ahead of the meeting. A Ukrainian source added that American and Ukrainian officials held follow-up discussions Tuesday, though no outcomes were disclosed.
The Riyadh talks also followed a recent agreement in principle between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to observe a limited ceasefire targeting energy and infrastructure facilities. However, both sides have accused each other of violating the limited truce.
Overnight Tuesday, Russia launched 139 Shahed drones and one missile at Ukraine, striking targets in Kyiv, Sumy, and other regions. Monday’s attacks in Sumy hit residential areas and a children’s hospital, injuring 101 people, including 23 children.
Zelenskyy accused Moscow of bad faith and called for continued military pressure, saying Russia “must be the ones forced into peace.” Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed it intercepted Ukrainian drones over Crimea and near an oil pumping station, accusing Kyiv of violating the ceasefire understanding.
Meanwhile, Trump officials have emphasized that the talks are part of a phased process.
National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said earlier this week that the negotiations will focus on negotiating a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, followed by discussions on a front-line freeze and broader peace settlement.
No date has been set for the next round of negotiations.
Burundi President: Rwanda Attack Imminent
BURUNDI
Rwanda is planning to attack Burundi even as it continues to help M23 rebels take control over large parts of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi’s President Évariste Ndayishimiye told the BBC.
Ndayishimiye said he has seen “credible intelligence” that an attack by Rwanda is imminent, adding that Rwanda had already tried to stage a coup in Burundi a decade ago to destabilize the country.
Rwandan officials also called Ndayishimiye’s comments “surprising,” insisting the two neighbors are working together on security plans for their shared border, which has been closed for over a year.
Rwanda has also denied arming and backing M23 or participating in the invasion of eastern DRC – despite extensive evidence provided by the United Nations.
The long-running conflict in mineral-rich eastern DRC flared in January after the M23 rebels, backed by 4,000 Rwandan soldiers, took over key cities, seeking control of the region’s mineral wealth. The outbreak of war has created one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, displacing more than seven million people – tens of thousands of Congolese have already crossed into Burundi seeking refuge, according to France 24.
The World Food Programme (WFP) warned that its funds for Burundi are “stretched to the limit” and may run out by June, Euronews noted.
Meanwhile, tensions have also peaked in the region between Rwanda, the DRC, Burundi, and also South Africa – the latter has accused Rwanda of trying to destabilize the region and killing its peacekeepers in the DRC.
Despite denying involvement, Rwandan leader Paul Kagame says that his priority is to destroy an armed group formed by Hutus involved in the Rwandan genocide, who he says massacred Rwandan Tutsis and then fled to the DRC.
He also views Burundi’s army in the eastern DRC as a security threat.
Relations between Rwanda and Burundi have long been hostile. The two countries have a similar ethnic make-up, but unlike Rwanda, the majority Hutus are in power in Burundi. Both countries have accused each other of trying to overthrow their respective governments.
Rwanda also denied any links with the resurgent Red Tabara rebel group in Burundi, which Ndayishimiye says is similar to M23, wants to take over Burundi, and is backed by Rwanda.
DISCOVERIES
Toxic Love
For male blue-lined octopuses, love is a dangerous game – one that often ends in the male becoming a post-coital snack.
As a result, these tiny cephalopods have developed a shocking survival strategy: Paralyzing their mates in the middle of mating with a powerful neurotoxin to avoid being eaten.
Sexual cannibalism is common among cephalopods because female octopuses need a big feast to produce and incubate their eggs.
“When female blue-lined octopuses lay eggs, they spend roughly six weeks without feeding just looking after the eggs,” lead author Wen-Sung Chung told the Guardian. “They really need a lot of energy to get them through that brooding process.”
In many octopus species, males have evolved longer mating arms to stay at a safe distance or even detachable sperm-delivery appendages – as seen in argonauts.
But blue-lined octopuses have no such luxury and rely on a paralyzing bite.
In their paper, the research team filmed the octopuses mating and noticed how the males would mount females from behind and deliver a precise bite to the aorta, injecting them with tetrodotoxin (TTX) directly into their circulatory system.
Within minutes, the females became unresponsive, their breathing slowed, and their pupils stopped reacting to light.
“They have very strange mating behavior,” Chung told CNN.
The paralysis lasted for about an hour, just long enough for the male to complete mating and make his escape. Once the toxin wore off, the females regained control, but they remained too weak to turn their mates into a final meal.
Interestingly, none of the females died from the venom, suggesting they have some resistance to TTX.
The findings could explain why male, blue-lined octopuses have evolved unusually large venom glands despite their small size.
Chung suggested that this behavior represents an evolutionary “arms race” between the sexes, with males developing a way to pass on their genes without becoming dinner.
While this discovery sheds new light on octopuses’ method of reproduction, it also highlights the sheer brutality of nature.
“It’s a kind of survival skill,” Chung told CNN.
Correction: In Tuesday’s THE WORLD, BRIEFLY section, we said in our “No Welcome Mat: Greenlanders Criticize US Trip to the Island” item that Greenlanders protested outside the US Embassy in Greenland’s capital of Nuuk. It is, in fact, a US Consulate. We apologize for the error.