**”One Crew Member Injured” … Grim Outlook with Gang Armed Activities Intensifying and Political Infighting**
In the Caribbean island nation of Haiti, which has become lawless due to gang violence, an American civilian aircraft was hit by gunfire on the 11th (local time) and made an emergency route change to a neighboring country.
The Miami Herald and CNN Spanish reported that a Spirit Airlines passenger jet, which took off from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was approaching its destination in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, when it was shot at from the air and rerouted to land in Santiago, Dominican Republic.
No passengers were injured, but one crew member was hurt, according to the Miami Herald.
Planes heading to Port-au-Prince were redirected, and the local airport (Toussaint Louverture International Airport) temporarily suspended operations. The perpetrator remains unidentified.
Previously, Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier, the leader of Haiti’s largest armed gang, posted a video on social media the day before, suggesting that residents of the capital, Port-au-Prince, stay indoors, signaling an increase in armed activities, according to EFE News.
Haiti is grappling with deepening insecurity amid outlaw activities by gangs, including murder, looting, sexual assault, kidnapping, and arson. To address the governmental vacuum, Acting Prime Minister Gary Cornille, in office for just over five months, has been dismissed.
The transitional committee, launched last April to prepare for the Haitian presidential election, appointed Didier Fiaceme, a businessman and former chamber of commerce president, as the new prime minister, reported by AP News and the Washington Post.
The Haitian Transitional Committee was tasked with making legal and administrative preparations to hold presidential elections within two years, while collaborating with the prime minister to alleviate the political crisis. However, some committee members were reportedly in conflict with the former Prime Minister Cornille’s side, according to AP.
Last month, three members of the transitional committee were identified by Haiti’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ULCC) for demanding $750,000 (approximately 1 billion won) from key figures at the state-owned credit bank, exacerbating tensions with Cornille’s side, analyzed the media.
Haiti, often regarded as the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, has its inhabitants struggling to maintain basic living conditions since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021, warns international organizations.
The World Food Programme (WFP) announced in a press release last September that nearly half of Haiti’s population, over 5.4 million people, are facing hunger, while the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has preliminarily estimated over 700,000 domestic displaced persons in Haiti.
Domestic displaced persons are individuals who have been forced to leave their usual place of residence due to conflicts or natural disasters but have not crossed international borders.
A multinational police force led by Kenya is undertaking security maintenance duties alongside local military and police but frequently appeals for international support citing shortages of personnel and equipment.