Haiti has declared a state of emergency and imposed a nighttime curfew due to a significant escalation in violence following the assault by armed gangs on the nation’s two largest prisons.
The Haitian government declared a 72-hour state of emergency and implemented a curfew from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. The decision aimed “to restore order and implement necessary measures to regain control of the situation.” The government highlighted a decline in security marked by escalating violent criminal activities carried out by armed gangs. These activities involve mass displacement, kidnappings, assassinations, violence against women and children, and widespread looting and theft of property.
According to two senior Haitian government officials, a large-scale, coordinated assault by gunmen from various gangs resulted in the escape of hundreds of inmates from the National Penitentiary, Haiti’s largest prison, on Saturday night. Prior to the attack, nearly 4,000 inmates were incarcerated in the facility, but as of Sunday, fewer than 100 remained inside. However, the officials cautioned that the exact number of escapees is still unknown.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Haitian government described the assailants as “heavily armed criminals intent on freeing individuals detained for serious crimes such as kidnapping, murder, and other severe offenses.”
On Sunday morning, several bodies were scattered on the ground in and around the National Penitentiary, although the cause of their deaths remained uncertain. Additionally, armed gangs seized control of a second prison in nearby Croix des Bouquets, which housed around 1,400 inmates. According to the Haitian National Police, the entire area was under the control of these gangs.
This mass prison break marks the latest in a series of exceptionally violent days in Haiti, surpassing even the country’s recent standards, where rates of kidnapping and murder have surged.
