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Haiti

Police stop at a car to inspect in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, April 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Haiti’s government scrambles to impose tight security measures as council inauguration imminent

A transitional council charged with selecting a new prime minister and Cabinet for Haiti is demanding that its members be sworn in at the National Palace, raising concerns about their safety.

FILE - Marc Baptiste is treated for a bullet wound at a Doctors Without Borders emergency room in the Cite Soleil neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, April 19, 2024. Baptiste said police in an armored vehicle shot him the previous day as he was collecting wood to sell as kindling in an area controlled by gangs. Haiti's health system has long been fragile, but it's now nearing total collapse after gangs launched coordinated attacks on Feb. 29, targeting critical state infrastructure in the capital and beyond. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa, File)

Haiti health system nears collapse as medicine dwindles, gangs attack hospitals and ports stay shut

A resident uses a loudspeaker to ask neighbors for a donation to pay for a metal gate to be installed as a barricade as protection against gangs, in the Petion-Ville neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, April 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Haiti’s capital is under siege. This is how people are trying to stay alive

People ride on a motorcycle in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Haiti’s former capital seeks to revive its hey-day as gang violence consumes Port-au-Prince

Laura Siegemund of Germany celebrates after defeating Carolina Alves of Brazil during their Billie Jean King Cup tennis match in Sao Paulo, Brazil, April 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

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Haiti health system near collapse as medicine dwindles and gangs attack hospitals

At hospitals and clinics across Port-au-Prince, life-saving medication and equipment is dwindling or altogether absent as brutal gangs tighten their grip on the capital and beyond. (AP Video/Pierre Luxama)

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Haiti’s surge of violence continues with daily shootouts, prompting thousands to leave the capital

Mexico evacuates 34 nationals from Haiti due to insecurity in the country

Gunbattle between Haitian police and gangs paralyzes area near the National Palace

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US deports about 50 Haitians to nation hit with gang violence, ending monthslong pause in flights

The Biden administration says it has sent about 50 Haitians back to their country, marking its first deportation flight in months to the Caribbean nation struggling under surging gang violence.

Canadian soldiers stand guard on the rooftop of their embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, April 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Transitional council in Haiti to choose new leaders is formally established amid gang violence

A transitional council tasked with choosing Haiti’s next prime minister and Cabinet has been formally established as gangs tighten their grip on the troubled Caribbean country.

People take cover from gunfire during clashes between police and gangs in the Champs de Mars area next to the National Palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

A journalist. An army sergeant. An 80-year-old patient. Haitian human rights group details gang toll

A Haitian human rights group has released a new report that details the horrific violence unleashed this year by gangs who kill, rape and maim with impunity amid a political vacuum.

An armored police car patrols the General Hospital area, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, April 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Creation of transitional council that will select Haiti’s next prime minister is imminent, US says

The U.S. assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere affairs says the creation of a transitional council responsible for choosing Haiti’s next leaders is imminent.

A street vendor crosses a street that is empty due to residents staying home amid gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Medical care and supplies are scarce as gang violence chokes Haiti’s capital

Fresh gunfire has erupted in Haiti’s capital, forcing aid workers in downtown Port-au-Prince to halt urgently needed care for thousands of people.

National Police patrol an intersection amid gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Haiti police recover hijacked cargo ship in rare victory after 5-hour shootout with gangs

Haiti’s National Police says it has recovered a hijacked cargo ship laden with rice following a gunbattle with gangs that lasted more than five hours.

Street vendors withdraw from the area where they were selling their bread, near the National Palace, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, April 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Haiti’s surge in gang violence has led more than 53,000 to flee the capital in less than three weeks

More than 53,000 people have fled Haiti’s capital in less than three weeks as deadly gang violence continues. That’s according to a new U.N. report.

People look at the the bodies of three persons shot dead after an overnight shooting in the Pétion Ville neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, April 1, 2024.(AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Gunbattle between Haitian police and gangs paralyzes area near National Palace

Heavy gunfire erupted in the downtown area of Haiti’s capital as police battled gang members near the National Palace for several hours.

People look for salvageable pieces from burned cars at a mechanic shop that was set on fire during violence by armed gangs in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Amid Haiti’s spiraling violence, Florida residents worry about family, friends in the island nation

Florida residents are raising concerns about family and friends in Haiti amid ongoing violence in the Caribbean island nation.

People look for salvageable pieces from burned cars at a mechanic shop that was set on fire during violence by armed gangs in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Police in Haiti say 2 men were hacked to death by a mob who thought they were buying ammo for gangs

Police in Haiti say two men have been hacked to death by a mob who thought they were buying ammunition or guns for gangs that have terrorized the country.

People look for salvageable pieces from burned cars at a mechanic shop that was set on fire during violence by armed gangs in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Haiti now needs up to 5,000 police to help tackle `catastrophic’ gang violence , UN expert says

Haiti now needs between 4,000 and 5,000 international police to help tackle “catastrophic” gang violence which is targeting key individuals and hospitals, schools, banks and other critical institutions, the U,N, rights expert for the conflict-wracked nation says.

People walk past the National Palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Haiti’s transitional council issues its first statement, signaling its creation is nearly complete

Members of a transitional presidential council who will be responsible for selecting a new prime minister for Haiti have issued their first official statement.

Women scuffle for plates of food for their children at a shelter for families displaced by gang violence, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, March 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Hunger deepens as relentless gang violence targets Haiti’s capital

Gangs have intensified their rampage in the downtown area of Haiti’s capital, setting fire to a school and looting pharmacies near the country’s largest public hospital.

People look for salvageable pieces from burned cars at a mechanic shop that was set on fire during violence by armed gangs in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Death threats and security concerns hinder creation of council that will choose Haiti’s next leader

Fresh turmoil involving a transitional presidential council that will be responsible for choosing Haiti’s new leader has triggered a flurry of meetings with Caribbean leaders and officials from the U.S., Canada and France.

Vivianne Petit Frere, of Haiti, stands in the doorway of the Haitian restaurant she runs, Wednesday, March 13, 2024, in downtown Tijuana, Mexico. When she fled to Brazil in 2019, walked through Panamanian jungle two years later, met her husband in Mexico and opened the restaurant, Petit Frere always felt she would eventually return home. Until now. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

For Haitian diaspora, gang violence back home is personal as hopes dim for eventual return

Gang violence wracking Haiti has reverberated among the more than 1 million Haitians who left their country for Brazil, Chile, Mexico and the United States.

A man transports a coffin using a cart in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, March 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

As gangs rampage through Haiti’s capital, more than 33,000 people have fled in 13 days, report finds

U.N. officials say more than 33,000 people have fled Haiti’s capital in a span of nearly two weeks as gangs continue to pillage homes and attack state institutions.

A helicopter lands to evacuate personnel at the Dominican embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, March 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Haitians emerge from homes during brief respite from gang violence. Hours later, gunfire erupts

Gunfire has erupted in the downtown area of Haiti’s capital. Female street vendors balancing heavy loads on their heads fled the area Thursday as bullets whizzed near buildings including the general hospital, the National Palace and the main penitentiary in yet another attack on Haiti’s capital.

Blood streams from a body lying in the street in the Petion-ville area of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, March 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Gangs target peaceful communities in new attacks on Haiti’s capital

Armed gangs are launching new attacks in the suburbs of Port-au-Prince, with heavy gunfire echoing across once-peaceful communities near the Haitian capital.

Una persona levanta la sábana que cubría un cadáver en el vecindario Petion Ville de Puerto Príncipe, Haití, el 18 de marzo de 2024. (Foto AP/Odelyn Joseph)

A team to choose Haiti’s next leader takes shape as gang violence engulfs the Caribbean nation

Caribbean leaders say all groups and political parties except one have submitted nominees for a transitional presidential council charged with selecting an interim prime minister for Haiti.

A child stands amid people who were detained for deportation to Haiti inside a police truck on a border bridge that connects Dajabon, Dominican Republic with Haiti, Monday, March 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez)

Dominican Republic is urged to stop deporting people to Haiti as people flee surge in gang violence

Human rights activists are calling on the Dominican Republic’s government for a temporary reprieve in deportations as neighboring Haiti’s crisis spirals and people attempt to flee over the closed border from a surge in deadly gang violence.

The relative of a person found dead in the street reacts after an overnight shooting in the Petion Ville neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, March 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Gangs unleash new attacks on upscale areas in Haiti’s capital, with at least a dozen killed nearby

Gangs have attacked two upscale neighborhoods in Haiti’s capital in a rampage that left at least a dozen people dead in surrounding areas.

FILE - A man enters the U.S. embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sunday, March 10, 2024. A charter flight carrying dozens of U.S. citizens fleeing spiraling gang violence in Haiti landed Sunday, March 17, 2024, in Miami, U.S. State Department officials said. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph. File)

First charter flight with US citizens fleeing Haiti lands in Miami

A charter flight carrying dozens of U.S. citizens fleeing spiraling gang violence in Haiti has landed in Miami. U.S.

National Police stand guard outside the empty National Penitentiary after a small fire inside in downtown Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Haiti, Thursday, March 14, 2024. This is the same facility that armed gangs stormed late March 2 and hundreds of inmates escaped. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Looting is on the rise in Haiti. Among the victims: UNICEF and Guatemala’s consul

A number of government and aid agencies in Haiti have reported their facilities and aid supplies have been looted as Haiti spirals into another wave of gang violence.

A server ladles soup into a container as children line up to receive food at a shelter for families displaced by gang violence, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Hunger soars and aid dwindles as gangs in Haiti suffocate the country

About 1.4 million Haitians are on the verge of famine and more than 4 million require food aid. Sometimes people are eating only once a day or not at all.

National Police patrol the area near the empty National Penitentiary after a small fire inside the jail in downtown Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Haiti, Thursday, March 14, 2024. This is the same prison that armed gangs stormed late March 2 and hundreds of inmates escaped. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

A plan to find new leadership for Haiti is moving forward, Caribbean officials say

Caribbean officials say a plan to create a transitional presidential council is moving forward after a majority of Haitian parties and coalitions submitted the names of those charged with finding new leaders for the country.

Soldiers patrol the road near the international airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Plan to install new leaders in Haiti appears to crumble after political parties reject it

A proposal to install new leadership in Haiti appears to be crumbling as some political parties rejected the plan to create a presidential council that would manage the transition.

Kenya police patrol the streets of Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, March.12, 2024. Kenya agreed in October to lead a U.N.-authorized international police force to Haiti, but the Kenyan High Court in January ruled the plan unconstitutional, in part because of a lack of reciprocal agreements between the two countries. Kenya and Haiti signed agreements Friday, March 1, 2024 to try to salvage a plan for the African country to deploy 1,000 police officers to the troubled Caribbean nation to help combat gang violence that has surged to unprecedented levels. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Kenya’s president reaffirms commitment to deploy a police force to Haiti to help quell gang violence

Kenya’s President William Ruto says the country will still lead a U.N.-backed multi-national police force to help quell gang violence in Haiti once a transitional presidential council is formed in the Caribbean country.

In this Oct. 5, 2018 file photo, Author Mitch Albom is interviewed in Detroit in this Oct. 5, 2018 file photo. Albom and nine others have been rescued by helicopter from Haiti after becoming stranded in the poverty-stricken and violence-torn Caribbean nation while visiting an orphanage. Albom says in a statement on X that the group was forced to shelter inside the Have Faith Haiti Mission & Orphanage in Port-au-Prince. The helicopter flew into Haiti, landing about 2:30 a.m. Monday and took the group to neighboring Dominican Republic. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio_File)

Author Mitch Albom, 9 others evacuated by helicopter from violence-torn Port-au-Prince

Author and Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom and nine others have been rescued by helicopter from Haiti after becoming stranded in the Caribbean nation while visiting an orphanage.

A woman cooks at shelter for families displaced by gang violence, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, March 8, 2024. The violence as anti-government gangs battle police in the streets has crippled Haiti’s economy and made it extremely difficult for many of the country's most vulnerable to feed themselves.(AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

4 million people face ‘acute food insecurity’ in troubled Haiti, says UN food agency official

The U.N. food agency’s director in Haiti says that 4 million people face “acute food insecurity” and one million of them are one step away from famine.

Pedestrians and commuters fill a street in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, March 12, 2024. Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced Tuesday that he would resign once a transitional presidential council is created, bowing to international pressure to make way for new leadership in the country overwhelmed by violent gangs. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Haiti’s future is being planned on two tracks: traditional political power and gang power

Haiti’s future is being planned on two tracks — one involving traditional political power, the other focused on the power of gangs.