International
Neighbors block streets in Port-au-Prince to protect themselves and prevent the entry of gangs
Many streets of Port-au-Prince are blocked with cars and trucks, with all kinds of objects that neighbors place to prevent the entry of armed gangs into their neighborhoods.
This is the situation that EFE found in the capital areas of Delmas 31 and Delmas 33, where the president of a neighborhood board, James Polimo, explained that it is the way they have to “self-protect” from gang violence, their attacks, killings, rapes and kidnappings.
According to Polimo to EFE, although in his neighborhood as such there are no gangs nearby, they are protected because recently members of armed groups tried to kidnap a person who works in the area.
The inhabitants, when they realized, had to cut the streets “so that they didn’t fall on him.”
Those blockages give the neighbors a greater sense of security and, he added, “although they are not one hundred percent protected, they feel safer than on the other side of the barrier.”
“Here 50 percent can sleep at night because they feel protected,” Polimo said in the face of extreme insecurity in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, largely under the control of gangs and in the midst of violence that has forced thousands of people to leave their homes and become displaced people within the city or to flee to other areas of the country or abroad.
Despite the difficulties that the cutting of streets entails for the neighbors when it comes to accessing the neighborhood, they don’t care because “when they enter, they feel safer than outside.”
He added that, if a member of the gangs decided to enter his neighborhood, “he could not be there for more than three minutes because the neighbors would catch him.”
When asked about how he sees the next deployment of the multinational security support mission, led by Kenya and approved by the UN, Polimo assured that it will be welcome, but considers that “the problem of Haiti is the same Haitians, who have to be together to be able to give security to the country and solve the problems.”
In his opinion, international troops come to Haiti to protect the country, but “we are the ones who have to stand ahead” when it comes to resolving the situation.
In early May, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Bahamas, Fred Mitchell, whose country will also send troops to Haiti, announced that the deployment of the multinational mission to restore security would begin on the 26th of this month.
Biden received Kenyan President William Ruto, on Thursday at the White House, and in fact raised the level of the bilateral alliance by designating the African country as a ‘main ally outside NATO’ for its leadership in that mission that will be deployed in Haiti.
At a press conference, Biden promised logistical support to the multinational security mission, but reiterated that the United States will not send soldiers to Haiti.
For the deployment of that force, which will be composed of about 2,500 members from countries from different continents, the Biden Administration committed 300 million dollars and calculated that the mission will have an annual cost of between 500 and 600 million, so it has pressured its allies to make more contributions.
The political, social and economic crisis and the escalation of violence have resulted in numerous changes in Haiti, with consequences such as Henry’s resignation and the creation of a Transitional Presidential Council, which should lead to the holding of presidential elections.
Last year alone, the violence caused 8,000 victims in Haiti, where the gangs control much of Port-au-Prince and other areas of the country.
International
Mexico requests extradition of ‘Mini Lic’ for murder of journalist Javier Valdez
The Mexican government has requested the extradition of Dámaso López Serrano, a former high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel, who is accused of masterminding the 2017 murder of Mexican journalist Javier Valdez, the Attorney General’s Office announced on Tuesday.
López Serrano, known as “Mini Lic,” was arrested last Friday in Virginia, United States, on charges of fentanyl trafficking, a crime he committed while on parole.
“This is the key issue for us, he [López Serrano] is the mastermind of this murder. The rest of the perpetrators are already processed and in jail, he was the one missing,” said Attorney General Alejandro Gertz.
“We immediately made the extradition request,” the official added during the routine morning press conference of President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Valdez, an award-winning reporter specializing in drug trafficking and correspondent for AFP and the newspaper La Jornada, was murdered on May 15, 2017, in front of the office of his magazine Riodoce in Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa state.
“Mini Lic” was originally arrested in 2017 when he voluntarily turned himself in to U.S. authorities and pleaded guilty to trafficking methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine. In 2022, he was released on parole.
Gertz confirmed that the Mexican Attorney General’s Office had requested López Serrano’s extradition “countless times,” but Washington had declined to act on the request because he had become a “protected witness” for the U.S. government and “was providing a lot of information.”
“Now, with this situation where they themselves are acknowledging that this individual is still committing crimes, I think there are more than enough reasons for them to support us,” the prosecutor added.
The Sinaloa Cartel is one of the largest drug trafficking organizations in Mexico and was founded by Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who is serving a life sentence in the United States.
Culiacán has been shaken by a wave of murders since the arrest of Ismael “Mayo” Zambada, another key leader of the cartel alongside Guzmán, on July 25 in New Mexico, United States.
International
Cuba’s government stresses openness to serious, respectful U.S. relations
Cuba reiterated on Tuesday its willingness to engage in dialogue with the United States, just weeks before Republican President Donald Trump assumes office. During his first term, Trump halted the historic rapprochement between the two countries, which had been initiated just ten years earlier by Democrat Barack Obama.
“It will not be Cuba that proposes or takes the initiative to suspend the existing dialogues, to suspend the existing cooperation. Not even the discreet exchanges on some sensitive issues,” said Cuban Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Fernández de Cossío at a press conference in Havana.
“We will be attentive to the attitude of the new government, but Cuba’s stance will remain the same as it has been for the last 64 years. We are willing to develop a serious, respectful relationship with the United States, one that protects the sovereign interests of both countries,” he added.
His statements come on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the historic rapprochement announcement between Washington and Havana.
On December 17, 2014, Cuban leader Raúl Castro (2006-2021) and Barack Obama (2008-2016) announced the beginning of a thaw in relations, which led to the restoration of diplomatic ties in 2015, after more than half a century of confrontation.
This process of thawing bilateral relations was later halted by businessman Donald Trump, who significantly reinforced economic sanctions against the communist-ruled country. The Republican will return to the White House on January 20.
Cuba, under a U.S. trade embargo since 1962, was re-listed in 2021 on the “blacklist of countries supporting terrorism,” blocking financial and economic flows to the island of 10 million inhabitants.
Subsequently, the administration of current Democratic President Joe Biden made only slight adjustments to the sanctions and also kept Cuba on this list. However, his administration resumed bilateral contacts with Havana on migration issues and the fight against terrorism.
International
Mexican government to use church atriums for gun surrender program to combat violence
The atriums of Mexican Catholic churches will be used for the voluntary surrender of weapons in exchange for economic and legal incentives as part of a plan announced on Tuesday by the government to reduce violence.
According to the Mexican government, there is a link between the illegal trafficking of weapons—almost entirely coming from the United States—and the spiral of criminal violence that has plagued the country since late 2006, when a controversial military anti-drug offensive was launched.
“The idea is to set up areas in the church atriums where people can voluntarily surrender their weapons, and in return, they will receive financial resources based on the weapon they are turning in,” explained President Claudia Sheinbaum during her regular press conference.
The left-wing leader emphasized that the program, called “Yes to Disarmament, Yes to Peace,” guarantees that those who surrender their weapons will not face any “investigation.”
“What we want is to disarm. This will be implemented next year. We also did it in Mexico City, and it had significant results,” added the former mayor of the capital, with a population of 9.2 million.
The disarmament plan is part of the government’s “comprehensive security strategy,” one of whose pillars is promoting a culture of peace, especially in regions severely affected by organized crime violence, Sheinbaum pointed out.
More than 450,000 people have been murdered in Mexico since the government launched its military-led anti-drug operation, alongside about 100,000 people who have gone missing.
Despite being a secular state, the Mexican Catholic Church has played a key role in efforts to contain violence, with priests acting as mediators between citizens and criminals. Several clergy members have been killed for this cause.
Just last week, the Catholic hierarchy called on cartels to declare a truce in their violent actions during the celebration of the Virgin of Guadalupe on December 12 and the upcoming Christmas holidays.
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