Gang-ravaged Haiti nearing 'point of no return'

NEW YORK

Haiti, where rampant gang violence has surged in recent weeks, is approaching a "point of no return" leading to "total chaos," the U.N. special representative to the troubled Caribbean nation warned on April 21.

"As gang violence continues to spread to new areas of the country, Haitians experience growing levels of vulnerability and increasing skepticism about the ability of the state to respond to their needs," Maria Isabel Salvador told the U.N. Security Council.

"Haiti could face total chaos," she said, adding that international aid was desperately needed to avoid that fate. "I urge you to remain engaged and answer the urgent needs of the country and its people."

Salvador cited cholera outbreaks and gender-based violence alongside a deteriorating security situation, particularly in the capital Port-au-Prince, with authorities struggling to cope.

The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti faces severe political instability, while swaths of the country are under the control of rival armed gangs who carry out widespread murders, rapes and kidnappings.

A Kenyan-led force authorized by the United Nations has failed to push back the gangs. The mission has around 1,000 police officers from six countries but was intended to have 2,500.

In a report seen by AFP, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that further international support was "required immediately to allow the national police to prevent the capital slipping closer to the brink."

The report detailed the upsurge in violence, with the U.N. recording 2,660 homicides in the three months from December 2024, a 41.3 percent increase over the previous quarter.