International

Activities paralyzed in Haiti in the face of new threats from the barbecue gang leader

The metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince was paralyzed this Monday, due to the new threats of the leader of the coalition of ‘Vivre Ensemble’ (Live Together), Jimmy Chérizier ‘Barbecue’, about possible attacks on several neighborhoods of the capital of Haiti.

Today all schools closed their doors, several public and private institutions did not open, nor did public transport work at full capacity and small businesses marched at a low pace.

In the streets, fear and anxiety were evident on the faces of pedestrians on a day in which intense shootings were heard in several parts of the capital, including the center, which has been under the control of the gangs for almost a year, which has forced thousands of people to flee their homes and take refuge in camps and provincial cities.

Faced with this situation, the Haitian National Police (PNH) has been on maximum alert since yesterday afternoon, after the Ministry of Justice warned in a note of “threats of armed gangs.”

The director general of the Police, Rameau Normil, has instructed the central and departmental directors, the commanders of specialized units and the heads of police stations and sub-police stations to keep their troops on maximum alert and take all measures to counter any attack by armed gangs against the civilian population, according to the Facebook page of the police.

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The police added that on Saturday night a “highly strategic” meeting was held to address the security situation.

He also stressed that he has strengthened security devices on several important roads to protect the lives and property of citizens.

In recent days, specialized police units such as the Temporary Anti-Band Unit, SWAT troops and the Search and Intervention Brigade, with the support of heavy equipment from the PNH, operated in several areas of central Port-au-Prince, which allowed road accesses to be cleared to “facilitate the entry of law enforcement during interventions and operations”.

In the interventions, according to the police, there were exchanges of gunfire with the gang members.

On the other hand, last Friday the Prime Minister of Haiti, Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, chaired a meeting of the Governing Council in which ministers and secretaries of state evaluated the progress of the major national projects, with special attention to insecurity in the country.

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To combat violence, Fils-Aimé has promised the acquisition of equipment to reinforce the PNH and the Armed Forces, as well as further training of security forces and strategic coordination to carry out faster and more effective interventions.

According to data verified by the United Nations Office for Human Rights, at least 5,601 people died in Haiti in 2024 as a result of the actions of criminal gangs (a thousand more than the previous year), 2,212 people were injured and 1,494 were kidnapped.

In mid-January, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that the number of displaced people in Haiti has tripled in just one year and has exceeded one million people (1,041,000), of whom more than half are children.

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.