Haiti is sliding into another cycle of chaos and extreme violence. The Caribbean nation appears to be edging toward a civil war, a claim echoed by the prominent gang leader Jimmy Cherizier, known as Barbecue, who heads one of the armed groups that effectively run portions of the country. Now, these factions have united with the goal of forcing the government out of power, specifically targeting Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who has held the role since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021. The escalating violence prompted the United Nations Security Council to convene an emergency meeting to address the crisis (news reports, 2025).
Following Moïse’s assassination in 2021, Henry rose to the presidency but faced a deadline that passed in February without parliamentary elections taking place. Elections were scheduled to be called by the end of that period, but the process was postponed to 2025 at the latest. This delay angered armed gangs that, once rivals, chose to band together to pressure the prime minister to resign (news coverage, 2025). The situation intensified as these gangs targeted critical infrastructure and public institutions, underscoring the fragility of state authority in several regions of the country.
Critical sites, including the international airport, a police academy, and several prisons from which thousands of inmates have escaped, were cited as focal points for the gang activity that has unleashed chaos across the nation. In response, the government declared a state of emergency and a curfew at the end of February. Prime Minister Henry was away at the time, traveling to Kenya to coordinate discussions with authorities about a multinational mission the United Nations had authorized to lead peacekeeping efforts. He has since left the country and was reported to be in Puerto Rico, with some sources noting that security concerns at Port-au-Prince’s airport prevented his landing there (news reports, 2025).
Stench of death
The number of fatalities and injuries continues to rise amid the violence. Non-governmental organizations such as Doctors Without Borders (MSF) have warned that the wounded—many of them women, children, and elderly—now require urgent care from relief teams on the ground (humanitarian reports, 2025).
Violence on a scale of hits and raids, heavy gunfire, looting, clashes with police, kidnappings, and arson marked a day in Haiti when hundreds were forced to abandon camps and homes to avoid falling victim to the armed groups’ terror that now grips much of the country (news coverage, 2025).
Another day of kidnappings, with gunmen storming the Saint-Joseph de Cluny Congregation in the Madeleine community and abducting three nuns, including foreign nationals, authorities confirmed. The Haitian Conference of Religious Sisters and Brothers provided the confirmation (church sector updates, 2025).
The city center carried the heavy odor of death. The surroundings of the civil prison reeked of decomposing corpses, some charred and others eaten by dogs. Schools and universities remained closed, along with several private and public institutions, a precaution in light of the ongoing violence in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, despite the state of emergency and three-day curfew declared by the government over the Western Department near the capital (educational and civil society bulletins, 2025).