(19 Mar 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Port-au-Prince, Haiti – 19 March 2025
1. Various of tear gas fired by police to stop advance of protesters
2. Protesters
3. SOUNDBITE (Haitian Creole) No name given, protester
“We will not accept that the state is colluding with gangs to sell the country. This is the only Haiti we have. This flag is our flag. They (the gangs) will not cast us out. They have no right to deport us from our country. We will not accept that.”
4. Various of protesters waving machetes
5. SOUNDBITE (Haitian Creole) No name given, protester
“We have nowhere to go, young men and women; we can’t run around here all day and night; we say no, that’s enough.”
6. People walking with machetes
STORYLINE:
Residents in a neighborhood of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, protested on Wednesday to demand protection against gangs.
Armed with machetes and stones, the protesters attempted to reach the Prime Minister’s office but were held back by police using tear gas.
Residents of Canape Vert reported that they had been hearing threats of a gang invasion in their neighborhood for days and made several appeals for police protection.
On Wednesday, they took matters into their own hands. They armed themselves with knives and machetes, blocking roads leading to Canape Vert with trees and burning tires.
A protester wrapped in the Haitian flag blamed the government for the unchecked power that gangs have gained in the city. “This is our flag! They (gangs) will not drive us out,” shouted the protester, who wished to remain anonymous.
Another unnamed protester stated that the population was tired of running. "We have nowhere to go. We say no – that is enough!"
It is unclear why the police did not respond to repeated appeals made by residents through phone calls to the local radio station.
The gang threatening the neighborhood is part of the Viv Ansamm coalition, which has already taken control of many other areas capital.
Viv Ansanm is also responsible for a series of coordinated attacks that began in late February 2024 targeting key government infrastructure. Gunmen attacked police stations, opened fire on the main international airport, forcing it to close for nearly three months, and raided Haiti’s two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates.
Gangs control 85% of the capital and continuously target previously peaceful communities to try and gain control of even more territory.
AP Video shot by Pierre Luxama
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