A former presidential candidate in Haiti has been shot and killed, as gang violence and unrest takes a stranglehold in the Caribbean country.
Eric Jean Baptiste, leader of minor political party Rally of Progressive National Democrats Party (RNDP) was shot dead outside his home in the capital Port-au-Prince on Friday night, police say. His bodyguard was also killed in the attack.
RNDP spokesman Ricardo Nordin said the men were in a car when it was “riddled with bullets”.
Mr Baptiste had previously survived an assassination attempt in 2018 when he was shot in the shoulder.
He was known for the aid he gave schools and universities as well as giving large donations to help the country fight against cholera and Covid.
The area of Haiti where the politician lived, Laboule 12, has been the scene of many violent crimes in recent months, including murders and kidnappings, MSN reports.
The violence has become commonplace.
Mr Baptiste’s assassination comes as Haiti faces chaos from every corner.
Armed gangs are blocking ports, a deadly cholera outbreak is ripping through the nation, people are facing hunger and food shortages, and kidnappings and sexual violence have become everyday occurrences. All as people lose their faith in the government to solve any of the crises facing them.
Gangs block ports and terminals
Throughout the northern hemisphere summer, armed gangs have battled across Haiti, with neighbourhoods set on fire and thousands of residents displaced.
According to the United Nations, the number of Haitians forced out of their homes as a result of the gang violence has tripled in the past five months. From June to August, more than 113,000 were displaced from the capital alone, nearly 90,000 of them because of gang violence, CNN reports.
The attacks have ramped up considerably since the July 2021 killing of president Jovenel Moise, who was allegedly set upon in his home by a group of suspected mercenaries.
Gangs have since exploited the lack of authority to take hold of the country.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the “absolutely nightmarish situation” in Haiti as gangs block the ports and fuel terminals.
This has led to dire food shortages and has left many unemployed as they have no fuel to get to work.
The gangs have also begun using sexual violence as a weapon.
Children as young as 10 raped
Haitian gangs are using rape as a way to maintain control, according to a new UN report.
“Gangs use sexual violence to instil fear, and alarmingly the number of cases increases by the day as the humanitarian and human rights crisis in Haiti deepens,” acting UN Human Rights chief Nada Al-Nashif said.
Children as young as 10 and elderly women have been subjected to sexual violence – including being gang raped for hours in front of their parents or children, the report found.
In horrific testimonies, victims told of being subjected to rapes over the course of days or weeks, with some even recorded, the videos then sent to their families in a bid to get them to pay their ransoms.
The report also found some – girls, women and men – were being coerced into becoming partners to gang members, with severe reprisals if they refused.
Malnutrition as people go hungry
Armed gangs also block ports in the country, meaning much-needed food and other supplies can’t get in.
This has led to severe malnutrition sweeping the nation.
The World Food Program (WFP) has said Haiti’s hunger level is now at its highest alert – level five – describing the situation as “catastrophic”.
It said there were currently 4.7 million people facing acute hunger in the nation, with 1.8 million in “emergency phase” and 19,000 in “catastrophe phase”.
The impoverished Cité Soleil area of Port-au-Prince currently has 65 per cent of its population suffering high levels of food insecurity.
Below-average rainfalls in farming areas as well as damage from a 2021 earthquake have also led to harvest losses, adding to the problem.
“This is a time of tumult in Haiti,” WFP Haiti director Jean-Martin Bauer said. “We all need to be steadfast and focus on delivering urgent humanitarian assistance and supporting long-term development.”
Cholera takes hold
As a result of the destruction plus food and clean water shortages, cholera cases have begun to rise.
The recent outbreak began at the start of October, and since then there have been 1700 suspected cases and 40 deaths, PBS reports.
The bacterial disease spreads when there is poor sanitation and it has taken hold particularly in the shanty towns of the capital.
It is most dangerous for people who are malnourished, which is a large percentage of the country.
Haiti’s last cholera outbreak began in 2010 and went on to kill 10,000 in the nine years it took to eradicate, The Guardian reports.
“Haitian people can’t wait any longer,” Mercy Corps Haiti manager Judes Jonathas said. “We cannot descend even further into this abyss. The urgency is now to save what can be saved.”
Again though, the crises work to make each other worse: Many hospitals in the nation are closed due to the fuel shortages, brought about by the gang blockades.
“The population is in an unprecedented and dramatic situation. Now it is really a matter of life or death on a daily basis,” aid organisation AVSI’s Haiti representative Fiammetta Capellini said.
Haiti’s ambassador to the US Bocchit Edmond told CNN that the government will call democratic elections if the international community intervenes with military assistance in the country.
“It’s very important for all Haitians to work together … and while we are getting help from our international partners, that we make sure to prepare to have free and fair democratic elections. Because it is the most important thing … to have democratic institutions stand up again,” he said.
“Before getting to elections, we need to restore law and order. And our national police itself cannot … because the gangs are well armed and their firepower is far more superior … We need international assistance,” he said.
“[Haiti is] on the edge of collapse.”
