"We have nowhere to go" - Haitians trapped by gang violence

Record ID: 1985133

  • Title: "We have nowhere to go" - Haitians trapped by gang violence
  • Date: 22nd March 2025
  • Summary: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI (MARCH 21, 2025) (REUTERS) DESERTED STREET / AUDIO OF GUNSHOTS IN THE DISTANCE VARIOUS OF ARMED FORCES VEHICLES PATROLLING VEHICLES REMOVING BURNT OUT VEHICLE DESERTED STREET WITH AUDIO OF GUNSHOTS IN THE DISTANCE (SOUNDBITE) (Creole) REFUGEE DISPLACED BY GANG VIOLENCE, AGATA AUGUSTE, SAYING: "Right now, we have nowhere to go. Everywhere we want to go
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Collapsed state Gang violence Haiti Port-au-Prince Refugees
  • Location: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI
  • City: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI
  • Country: Haiti
  • Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,South America / Central America
  • Reuters ID: LVA001096522032025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Just days after prosecutors in the United States charged powerful Haitian gang leader Johnson Andre, known as Izo, with taking a U.S. citizen hostage in Haiti, residents of Port au Prince say they continue to live in fear of organised crime.
    As armoured vehicles patrol the streets, gunshots can be heard in the distance on Friday (March 21) and residents say they have lost everything they own, including their homes, to gang warfare.
    "Everywhere we want to go is controlled by gangs," said one resident, Agata Auguste.
    In recent years, Haiti's violent gangs have significantly expanded their control over territory in the Caribbean island nation, especially in the capital, Port-au-Prince, amid a prolonged security crisis marked by frequent shootouts that have caught thousands of civilians in the crossfire.
    Gang conflict, which the United Nations has warned is being fueled by guns shipped from Florida, has made more than 1 million homeless in Haiti.
    In a further blow to terrified residents seeking refuge from the violence, the U.S. government last month decided to speed up the expiration of deportation protections and work permits for 521,000 Haitians covered by a temporary program by some six months.
    And Haiti is also amongst 40 countries the US government is considering imposing travel restrictions as part of US President Donald Trump's crackdown on migration.
    (Production: Ives Surin, Herbert Villarraga, Hugo Monnet)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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