Haiti

How has the crisis in Haiti unfolded in 2024? Take a look at 11 major changes

Stories by Miami Herald journalists, with AI summarization

Haiti's ongoing crisis in 2024 has included natural disasters, gang violence, political instability and dire economic conditions. The nation's call for international peacekeeping assistance aims to address these escalating threats.

Heavy rains compounded the precarious situation by causing floods and landslides, further displacing thousands.

The Biden administration's support involves providing weapons and protective gear to Haitian police, despite delays in deploying a Kenya-led security force. However, the complexities of securing adequate funding and resources for a multinational mission remain a critical hurdle.

Here are several major stories through the year:

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories below were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.

Gang leader Germine Joly, better known as “Yonyon,” pleaded guilty in January 2024 to four dozen charges in the United States relating to weapons smuggling from South Florida into Haiti. He was extradited to the U.S. in May 2022. By Haiti National Police

NO. 1: SOUTH FLORIDA WOMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO SMUGGLING ARMS TO HAITI. GANG LEADER WAIVES JURY TRIAL

A Pompano Beach woman who helped one of Haiti’s most notorious kidnapping gangs obtain high-powered rifles and ammunition from Florida gun dealers pleaded guilty Wednesday to violating U.S. | Published January 17, 2024 | Read Full Story by Shirsho Dasgupta

NO. 2: U.S. LOOKS TO GALVANIZE SUPPORT FOR KENYA-LED ARMED MISSION TO HAITI AMONG G20 MINISTERS

In addition to funds, the security mission also needs equipment and according to some expats, more bodies. For now, the mission is expected to have 2,500 officers fielded from Kenya, Jamaica, The Bahamas and other Caribbean and African nations. | Published February 21, 2024 | Read Full Story by Jacqueline Charles

Members of the General Security Unit of the National Palace, USGPN, set up a security perimeter around one of the three downtown stations after police fought off an attack by gangs the day before, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, March 9, 2024. By Odelyn Joseph

NO. 3: UNDER CONSTANT ATTACK BY GANGS, HAITI’S COPS WILL GET $10 MILLION IN GUNS, AMMO FROM U.S.

With a coalition of deadly Haitian gangs intensifying their attacks and the deployment of a Kenya-led multinational security force still on hold, the Biden administration is trying to get more weapons, ammunition and protective gear into the hands of Haiti’s beleaguered police force.President Biden authorized Secretary of State Antony Blinken on cqTuesday to provide up to $10 million worth of weapons, ammunition, bullet-proof vests and helmets from a Department of Homeland Security stockpile to the Haiti National Police. | Published March 27, 2024 | Read Full Story by Jacqueline Charles

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement flight from the United States with 40 men and 12 women arrived on Thursday, April 18, 2024 in the northern city of Cap-Haïtien, Haiti amid ongoing violence in Port-au-Prince by armed groups. By Gérard Maxineau

NO. 4: BIDEN ADMINISTRATION RESUMES DEPORTATION FLIGHTS TO HAITI AMID ONGOING VIOLENCE

Dozens of Haitians expelled from the United States arrived back in Haiti on Thursday in the Department of Homeland Security’s first deportation flight since an ongoing gang insurgency forced the Biden administration to halt a flight with deportees and order the evacuation of Americans.Haiti’s Office of National Migration said it was informed by U.S. | Published April 18, 2024 | Read Full Story by Jacqueline Charles

Meeting that discusses Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) efforts in combatting weapons trafficking, human smuggling, child exploitation, and other illicit activities in Haiti, on Friday, May 3rd, at the Homeland Security Investigations, Miami. By Alexia Fodere

NO. 5: FEDS IN SOUTH FLORIDA SEEK HAITIAN COMMUNITY’S HELP TO TACKLE ARMS TRAFFICKING TO HAITI

Federal agents investigating the illegal flow of weapons, drugs and contraband between the United States and Haiti are turning to South Florida’s Haitian community for help in cracking down on the gang violence that is fueling instability in the volatile Caribbean country.Agents from Homeland Security Investigations, the criminal investigations arm of the Department of Homeland Security, met with prominent Haitian-American leaders from the Miami metro area at the agency’s office on Friday. | Published May 3, 2024 | Read Full Story by Syra Ortiz Blanes

Port-au-Prince, June 23, 2022 - Policemen on Patrol keep their eyes on traffic during a stop at a police check point in Tabarre, near the U.S. Embassy. By Jose A. Iglesias

NO. 6: KENYAN POLICE OFFICERS PREPARING TO DEPLOY TO HAITI, WHERE PREPARATIONS ARE UNDER WAY

Civilian contractors and supplies have begun arriving in Haiti where preparations are underway for the arrival of Kenyan forces into the country to assist the Haiti National Police dismantle dangerous gangs, a top Biden official confirmed to the Miami Herald. | Published May 4, 2024 | Read Full Story by Jacqueline Charles

At least 17 people have died in heavy rains in Haiti’s second largest city, Cap-Haïtien. More than 4,000 homes have also been flooded.

NO. 7: HAITI DEATH TOLLS RISES, THOUSANDS MORE HOMES FLOOD AS RAIN THREAT CONTINUES

The first days of Haiti’s rainy season continue to prove destructive and deadly for the country’s vulnerable population. | Published May 6, 2024 | Read Full Story by Jacqueline Charles

Ariel view of the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support mission base on August 24, 2024. The base, constructed by the United States, is located near Port-au-Prince’s Toussaint Louverture International Airport. By Jose Iglesias

NO. 8: EXCLUSIVE: U.S. SEEKS TO TURN KENYA MISSION IN HAITI INTO U.N. PEACEKEEPING OPERATION

More than two months after the first contingents of Kenyan police officers arrived in Haiti to head a largely U.S.-funded multinational security force, the Biden administration is exploring the possibility of transitioning to a traditional United Nations peacekeeping operation.The State Department, which in the face of funding and equipment shortfalls has been mulling over the possibility of transforming the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support, has notified U.S. | Published September 4, 2024 | Read Full Story by Michael Wilner

Gang attacks in Port-au-Prince earlier this year, led to the escape of thousands of inmates jailed in Haiti’s two largest prisons. By SIPA/Sipa USA

NO. 9: U.S. SANCTIONS FORMER POLITICIAN ONCE CLOSE TO PRESIDENT MOïSE, ALONG WITH GANG LEADER

A former Haitian lawmaker and political party leader whose tight grip on the Artibonite region has helped fueled a climate of gang terror has been sanctioned by the Biden administration, along with the head of a powerful gang he reportedly helped form in the region.Prophane Victor, a former member of Haiti’s Lower House of Deputies, was added to a growing list of Haitian political leaders and gang chietftains on Wednesday “for his role in forming, supporting, and arming gangs that have committed serious human rights abuse in Haiti,” the U.S. | Published September 25, 2024 | Read Full Story by Jacqueline Charles

After the 400 Mawozo gang launched its first attack on the community of Ganthier, east of Port-au-Prince, on July 21, the Haiti National Police and Kenya-led Multinational Security Support, MSS, mission launched a joint operation into the town. Ganthier, however, remains under gang control.

NO. 10: STRUGGLE TO FIGHT HAITI GANGS FACES CRITICAL UN VOTE AS U.S. SEEKS PEACEKEEPING MISSION

“We need a resolution and we need to move this mission onto a more sustainable financial path that people can plan against.” | Published September 29, 2024 | Read Full Story by Jacqueline Charles

Representatives of the United Nations Security Council on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024 renewed the mandate of the U.N.-backed Multinational Security Support mission in Haiti. By Xinhua

NO. 11: HAITI ASKS FOR UN PEACEKEEPING MISSION AS GANGS’ EXPANSION WORRIES LEADERSHIP COUNCIL

Seven years after the last United Nations peacekeepers departed amid warnings they would soon be back, Haiti is now officially asking for their return.Leslie Voltaire, the current president of the Transitional Presidential Council, wrote a letter to U.N. | Published October 22, 2024 | Read Full Story by Jacqueline Charles

This report was produced with the help of AI tools, which summarized previous stories reported and written by McClatchy journalists. It was edited by journalists in our News division.