By: Staff Writer
March 19, 2024
A Haitian Supreme Court judge was kidnapped as armed gangs made their way to upscale areas of Port-Au Prince, leaving dozens dead in their wake.
According to Jacqueline Charles of the Miami Herald, the attack comes as Haitian leaders have increased discussions about naming a judge to sit as president until elections in the embattled country is held as opposed to allowing the council of seven voting members and two alternatives.
Gunmen looted homes in the communities of Laboule and Thomassin before sunrise, forcing residents to flee as some called radio stations pleading for police. The neighborhoods had remained largely peaceful despite a surge in violent gang attacks across Port-au-Prince that began on Feb. 29.
The violence engulfing Haiti’s capital that has led to daily gun battles between police and gangs extended into the hills on Monday, as Haitians in some of Port-au-Prince’s wealthiest enclaves woke up to bursts of heavy gunfire and bodies riddled with bullets on their streets.
They attacked a bank branch, a gas station and various other businesses as well as several private residences which they looted, including that of Me Pierre Volmar Demesyeux, Judge at the Superior Court of Auditors and Administrative Disputes (CSC/CA) located in Laboule 18, who was fortunately able to be evacuated narrowly thanks to police intervention.
Crowds began gathering around the victims. One was lying face up on the street surrounded by a scattered deck of cards and another found face down inside a pick-up truck known as a “tap-tap” that operates as a taxi. A woman at one of the scenes collapsed and had to be held by others after learning that a relative of hers was killed.
“Abuse! This is abuse!” cried out one Haitian man who did not want to be identified as he raised his arms and stood near one of the victims. “People of Haiti! Wake up!” An ambulance arrived shortly afterward and made its way through Pétionville, collecting the victims.
“We woke up this morning to find bodies in the street in our community of Pétionville,” said Douce Titi, who works at the mayor’s office. “Ours is not that kind of community. We will start working to remove those bodies before the children start walking by to go to school and the vendors start to arrive.”