A dozen bullet holes, in the shape of a spider web, dot the windshield and side windows of an armored vehicle of the Haitian National Police (PNH) that patrols the streets of downtown Port-au-Prince. Inside, behind heavy metal shutters, four agents from the intervention and law enforcement forces, hooded and dressed in uniform, explore the streets of the Haitian capital. One of them points his machine gun outwards, through a half-open hatch.
The historic center offers a glimpse of the consequences of the apocalypse: the straight avenues are deserted, covered in rubble and lined with ruined buildings. Large blocks of concrete and charred cars block access to certain streets. “We do not turn left: the road is closed, it is too dangerous”comments, at the wheel of the machine, the young deputy chief of the patrol, who, like his companions, requested strict anonymity. Like 80% of the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, this previously distressing sector is in the hands of armed gangs that have been wreaking desolation in the capital for several years, in the context of a serious political crisis in Haiti.
Not far from the remains of the prestigious Alexandre-Pétion institute, Pavée Street runs through the stronghold of the Krache Dife gang. the bandits “they are in every house”assures the affable police officer behind the wheel. “These are fleeing”he says, pointing to a motorcycle speeding away across the street. However, the PNH vehicle only passes through: “As soon as we open the door of the armored vehicle, they shoot at us. »
Devastated city center
The strange silhouettes that emerge around a bullet-riddled facade are not always a harbinger of danger: many local residents still survive in the devastated city center. A ragged man pushes a wheelbarrow loaded with large bags. A woman in a red hat sweeps an intersection. Their effort seems insignificant amidst the mounds of garbage. “These people have resigned themselves to living with gangs”the driver of the armored vehicle observes sadly. He slows down to cross a large ditch blocking the road. The vehicle almost overturned in this trench full of brownish water and garbage, but the uniformed officers, accustomed to such lurches, remained stoic.
The PNH is on the front lines of this security crisis that continues to worsen. At least 3,661 people have been murdered in the country since the beginning of the year, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights announced on Thursday, September 26. As a consequence of this spiral of violence, more than 700,000 people have had to flee their homes to find refuge in other parts of the country, according to the latest figures from the International Organization for Migration.
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