Haiti: the never-ending nightmare
Experts and stakeholders gathered in Miami said that the Caribbean nation needs the support of the Caribbean Community and the United States to get out of the quagmire. A member of the recently installed Presidential Council argued that without strengthening the neglected security forces will not be possible to reestablish the rule of law, in a context also marked by the lack of water, electricity and other basic services. In this sense, Leslie Voltaire, a former candidate for the country's presidency, stated that "without jobs, without economy and services or recovery of the agricultural sector" security will not uphold, even with the potential arrival of foreign military aid, expected by the end of the month.
With more than 360,000 people displaced by the violence, shortage of medicines, and some 2 million citizens with a critical food deficit, many Haitians find refuge in the practice of voodoo. It is something similar to what happens in Cuba with santería. "The spirits help you[, they] are always there," says one priestess who refers she got out of an extreme situation—a score of gang members surrounded her car with intentions of burning her and her children—by invoking Papa Ogou, "god of war and iron". Many people consult oungans to locate from loved ones to medications. Voodoo is native to Africa, and history says it was instrumental in liberation from the French yoke in Haiti.
#VideosLaJornada Una tarde reciente, cientos de practicantes de vudú en Haití se reunieron en una pequeña iglesia para celebrar a San Jorge. Le ofrecieron dinero y oraciones con la esperanza de superar la crisis cada vez más profunda del país.https://t.co/0VJXyK9bUD
— La Jornada (@lajornadaonline) May 10, 2024
Citizens are demanding the arrest of the national police chief following the seizure by criminal gangs of a police station late Friday, located in the coastal community of Gressier. "The city is ours... We have no limits," the criminals said, puffing out their chests after breaking into homes, burning vehicles, and causing further forced displacement. People fled as best they could, as also happened last week with 4,000 people leaving the center of the capital amid the bullets. "The situation is critical and catastrophic", said a police union leader, pointing to the director of the decrepit National Police as having failed. The United States, for its part, paves the way for the deployment of the multinational force and the recovery of the Haitian police's combat capability. However, Haitian gangs already control 25 police stations.
SourcePeru, where you are either corrupt or at least accused of being one
Last Friday the brother of controversial Peruvian President Dina Boluarte was arrested along with her lawyer for allegedly being involved in an influence-peddling scheme. Nicanor Boluarte would have installed prefects in exchange for money and other political favors, as reported by AP. The head of the House of Pizarro continues this way in the eye of the hurricane, also for deactivating a police group that supported the Public Prosecutor's Office in anti-corruption tasks. Prosecutors consider that she did it to hinder the investigations against her brother. The lawyer would have tried to bribe police agents working on the same investigation. One of the lines of the criminal organization allegedly led by Nicanor Boluarte was the establishment of a political party "to maintain power in the state apparatus".
SourcePetro clashes again with Israel over Gaza crisis
The Colombian president, always very vocal and active with his diplomacy via X, said the Israeli prime minister "will go [...] down in history as a genocidal". "Dropping bombs on thousands of innocent children, women and elderly people does not make you a hero. You stand next to those who killed millions of Jews in Europe", Petro also said, further piercing his rough relationship with Jerusalem. Netanyahu had said earlier—also in X—that he would not take lessons from an "anti-Semite who supports Hamas", reacting to Bogota's request that the International Criminal Court issue an arrest warrant for him. "Neither anti-Semites nor anti-humans. If Gaza dies, humanity dies", closed the head of the House of Nariño. On my account, except for Paraguay, Ecuador, and Argentina, the rest of the countries in the region rejected the Israeli response to the electric and bloody attack by Hamas on October 7. In this regard, Nicolás Maduro called Javier Milei a "genocidal coward" for his unconditional support to Israel.
During the ’80s, a Mossad operative and an Israeli officer facilitated the mass murder of Colombian leftists. It’s worth revisiting this dark history now that Colombian president Gustavo Petro has severed relations with Israel. https://t.co/5CSmKUfOs8
— Jacobin (@jacobin) May 5, 2024
And this is all for our report today. I have referenced the sources dynamically in the text, and remember you can learn how and where to follow the LATAM trail news by reading my work here. Have a nice day.
Posted Using InLeo Alpha