International
Shock in Haiti over the massacre of more than 70 people at the hands of an armed gang
The massacre perpetrated early last Thursday morning by the armed group Gran Grif in Pont Sondé, about 100 kilometers from Port-au-Prince, left more than 70 dead, including women, children and the elderly, and has shocked depressed Haiti, immersed for years in a crisis that is only worsening.
The balance of the massacre in Pont Sondé, in the commune of Saint-Marc, in Artibonite, could increase with the hours, because sporadic shots are still heard in the area, which cannot be accessed due to violence.
Several houses and vehicles were set on fire, forcing survivors to take refuge in other places or in the public square of Saint-Marc after walking for hours and crossing bodies along the way.
Inhuman and unacceptable acts
The Prime Minister, Garry Conille, visited the victims this Saturday at the Saint Nicolas de Saint Marc hospital, where he sympathized with the families and expressed his deepest indignation for these acts, which he described as inhumane.
“This new act of violence, directed against innocent civilians, is unacceptable and requires an urgent, rigorous and coordinated response from the State,” said Conille, in office since June 12, replacing Ariel Henry, who resigned in the midst of an outbreak of violence.
During his visit, the head of government reiterated his government’s “full commitment” to work “relentlessly” to restore the security and authority of the State and protect all citizens.
Several units of the Haitian National Police (PNH) are deployed in the commune of Saint-Marc, where they have sent armored vehicles and contingents of the Multinational Security Support Force, which is led by Kenya, with the aim of reinforcing police officers who are already on the ground carrying out operations to dismantle criminal gangs, the Police announced on Facebook.
The division commissioner of the Artibonite Police, Jean Louis Paul Ménard, was dismissed after the massacre for his inability to neutralize the armed gangs that control the region. Instead, they appointed Caleb Exantus, who took office yesterday.
A planned massacre in Haiti
Rumors of a planned massacre had been circulating in Pont-Sondé for at least two months, according to a report by the NGO National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (Rnddh), which expressed its dismay at the news on Saturday.
The armed men blamed the local population for joining forces with those of the members of “The Coalition” – a self-defense group – who are trying to stop criminal activities at the Gran Grif base and prevent them from profiting from the toll they have recently installed on the national road,” Rnddh revealed.
This massacre was characterized by murders, injuries caused by bullets and knives, the burning of houses, vehicles and checkpoints, and the forced displacement of the population of Pont-Sondé.
“People with babies and young children were also killed. The corpses lie on the ground, they have not yet been recovered by their relatives,” Rnddh denounced.
The authorities, unable to restore peace
The Pont-Sondé massacre adds to the thousands of victims of acts of violence against people and property perpetrated by armed people, who have enjoyed impunity for several years, the NGO laments in a document.
“The new state authorities put in place by the international community promised to restore order and security in the country,” however, “nothing has changed since they came to power.”
“They are content to empty the coffers of the State by granting themselves all kinds of advantages, while they let the population manage with the armed men,” he says, while assuring that “nothing is being done to regain control of the areas occupied by members of the armed organizations, disarm them, arrest them, try and condemn them in proportion to the acts of which they are accused.”
The Rnddh recommends that authorities actively search for armed members of the Gran Grif base, run by Luckson Elan.
It also calls for psychological and financial assistance programs to be launched for the entire population of Pont-Sondé, in particular the one that is currently in the public square Philippe Guerrier, very shocked by the attack and who could not take anything with him when he was fleeing the attack of the gang members.
International
Trump urges Putin to reach peace deal
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his desire for Russian President Vladimir Putin to “reach a deal” to end the war in Ukraine, while also reaffirming his willingness to impose sanctions on Russia.
“I want to see him reach an agreement to prevent Russian, Ukrainian, and other people from dying,” Trump stated during a press conference in the Oval Office at the White House.
“I think he will. I don’t want to have to impose secondary tariffs on Russian oil,” the Republican leader added, recalling that he had already taken similar measures against Venezuela by sanctioning buyers of the South American country’s crude oil.
Trump also reiterated his frustration over Ukraine’s resistance to an agreement that would allow the United States to exploit natural resources in the country—a condition he set in negotiations to end the war.
International
Deportation flight lands in Venezuela; government denies criminal gang links
A flight carrying 175 Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States arrived in Caracas on Sunday. This marks the third group to return since repatriation flights resumed a week ago, and among them is an alleged member of a criminal organization, according to Venezuelan authorities.
Unlike previous flights operated by the Venezuelan state airline Conviasa, this time, an aircraft from the U.S. airline Eastern landed at Maiquetía Airport, on the outskirts of Caracas, shortly after 2:00 p.m. with the deportees.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, who welcomed the returnees at the airport, stated that the 175 repatriated individuals were coming back “after being subjected, like all Venezuelans, to persecution” and dismissed claims that they belonged to the criminal organization El Tren de Aragua.
However, Cabello confirmed that “for the first time in these flights we have been carrying out, someone of significance wanted by Venezuelan justice has arrived, and he is not from El Tren de Aragua.” Instead, he belongs to a gang operating in the state of Trujillo. The minister did not disclose the individual’s identity or provide details on where he would be taken.
International
Son of journalist José Rubén Zamora condemns father’s return to prison as “illegal”
The son of renowned journalist José Rubén Zamora Marroquín, José Carlos Zamora, has denounced as “illegal” the court order that sent his father back to a Guatemalan prison on March 3, after already spending 819 days behind barsover a highly irregular money laundering case.
“My father’s return to prison was based on an arbitrary and illegal ruling. It is also alarming that the judge who had granted him house arrest received threats,” José Carlos Zamora told EFE in an interview on Saturday.
The 67-year-old journalist was sent back to prison inside the Mariscal Zavala military barracks on March 3, when Judge Erick García upheld a Court of Appeals ruling that overturned the house arrest granted to him in October. Zamora had already spent 819 days in prison over an alleged money laundering case.
His son condemned the situation as “unacceptable”, stating that the judge handling the case “cannot do his job in accordance with the law due to threats against his life.”
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