International

Thousands of displaced people in Haiti flee the violence of armed gangs

Thousands of people living in the areas of Solino, Nazon and Christ-Roi, in the heart of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, have left their homes fleeing the advance of the armed gangs towards new territories, in the face of the indifference of the authorities and despite the presence of the Multinational Security Support Force, which leads Kenya.

“The gang members are very close,” a woman told reporters in tears, who has not known since Thursday morning the whereabouts of her children, who, like her, fled from the gangs, which since Monday have terrorized the Haitian capital, which has already left several dead, according to different media.

Last Sunday the leader of Vivre Ensemble, former police officer Jimmy Cherizier alias ‘Barbecue’, announced a resurgence of violence and asked the population not to leave their homes if it was not necessary, which has led to the paralysis of activities in the capital of impoverished Haiti.

Several dead in Haiti due to gang violence

Between Monday and this Thursday, several people have died, either at the hands of the gangs themselves or in clashes between armed gangs, according to local media.

Panic reigns in the different neighborhoods near the areas already under the control of the gangs, which last Monday shot two American commercial planes, which led to the closure of the Toussaint Louverture international airport, the main one in the country, and the suspension of flights by several companies.

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EFE could observe this Thursday men, women and especially children with suitcases on their backs, or at least bags on their heads, fleeing their neighborhoods threatened by the gangs, trying to save what they could. A few people were able to move, taking everything with them.

Thousands of people have taken refuge in Bourdon, on the premises of the Citizen Protection Office, which had been housing students from the Faculty of Law and Economics of Port-au-Prince for several months, when she was evicted by the gangs.

More than 1,000 dead

This is the umpteenth public space invaded by displaced people fleeing the atrocities of the armed gangs belonging to the coalition of alias Barbecue.

Between July and September alone, at least 1,223 people died and 522 were injured as a result of violence and the fight against gangs, according to the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (Binuh).

Added to this are the 3,900 victims between dead and wounded in the first half of the year, after 2023 closed with about 8,000 victims.

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Haiti had, until last September, 702,973 internally displaced people, according to official figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and it is very likely that these figures will increase with the upsurge in gang violence

International

Marco Rubio warns Venezuela against military action against Guyana

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Venezuela on Thursday that a military attack on Guyana would be “a big mistake” and “a very bad day for them,” expressing his support for Georgetown in its territorial dispute with Caracas.

“It would be a very bad day for the Venezuelan regime if they attacked Guyana or ExxonMobil. It would be a very bad day, a very bad week for them, and it would not end well,” Rubio emphasized during a press conference in Georgetown alongside Guyanese President Irfaan Ali.

International

Ecuador oil spill worsens as containment dam collapses

The collapse of a containment dam holding back part of the 25,000+ barrels of oil spilled from a pipeline rupture nearly two weeks ago has worsened the environmental crisis in northwestern Ecuador, contaminating rivers and Pacific beaches.

The Ecuadorian government attributed the March 13 pipeline rupture—which led to the spill of 25,116 barrels of crude—to an act of sabotage. The spill affected three rivers and disrupted water supplies for several communities, according to authorities.

On Tuesday, due to heavy rains that have been falling since January, a containment dam on the Caple River collapsed. The Caple connects to other waterways in Esmeraldas Province, a coastal region bordering Colombia, state-owned Petroecuador said in a statement on Wednesday.

Seven containment barriers were installed in the Viche River, where crews worked to remove oil-contaminated debris. Additional absorbent materials were deployed in Caple, Viche, and Esmeraldas Rivers, which flow into the Pacific Ocean.

Authorities are also working to protect a wildlife refuge home to more than 250 species, including otters, howler monkeys, armadillos, frigatebirds, and pelicans.

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“This has been a total disaster,” said Ronald Ruiz, a leader in the Cube community, where the dam was located. He explained that the harsh winter rains caused river levels to rise, bringing debris that broke the containment barriersthat were holding the accumulated oil for extraction.

International

Federal court blocks Trump’s use of Enemy Alien Act for deportations

A federal appeals court upheld the block on former President Donald Trump’s use of the Enemy Alien Act on Wednesday, preventing him from using the law to expedite deportations of alleged members of the transnational criminal group Tren de Aragua.

With a 2-1 ruling, a panel from the Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals affirmed previous decisions by two lower court judges, maintaining the legal standoff between the White House and the judiciary.

On March 14, Trump invoked the 1798 Enemy Alien Act, a law traditionally used during wartime, to deport hundreds of Venezuelans whom he accused of belonging to Tren de Aragua, a criminal organization that originated in Venezuelan prisons.

The centuries-old law grants the president the power to detain, restrict, and expel foreign nationals from a country engaged in a “declared war” or an “invasion or predatory incursion” against the United States, following a public proclamation.