Haiti Declares State Of Emergency After Armed Gang Release Thousands Of Prisoners

The Haiti government declared a 72-hour state of emergency on Sunday following a massive prison break during which thousands of incarcerated inmates escaped from two of Haiti's largest prisons.

In an alarming series of events, armed gangs reportedly stormed the prisons last week after a surge of gang violence plagued the Carribean island for years.

The finance prime minister, Patrick Boivert — currently standing in as acting prime minister — elaborated on the "deterioration of security" reporting "increasingly violent criminal acts perpetrated by armed gangs."

This includes kidnappings, the murder of civilians, violence against women and children, and looting.

The escaping of reported "dangerous prisoners" led to the deaths and injuries of both officers and prison staff. Local police stations were attacked prior to the escape in order to cause distraction, as per Haitian media.

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According to the BBC, at least 12 people were killed and around 3,700 convicts escaped during the treacherous jailbreak. Many schools and businesses are currently shut down.

The violent gangs have built barricades to prevent authorities and security forces from entering their territory. "People are horrified and the streets are empty," Boby Sander from the humanitarian organization, Food for the Hungry, said.

One of Haiti's most powerful gang leaders are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who has since traveled to Kenya. He landed in Puerto Rico, according to CBS News, on Tuesday, with no annoucement of his return.

Due to petrol shortages, Jimmy "Barbecue" Cherizier of "G9" gang stepped in, claiming he will oversee the safe passage of fuel trucks under the condition that Henry agree to leave office.

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"The areas under the control of the G9 are blocked for one reason only. We demand the resignation of Ariel Henry," Barbecue said in a radio interview. "If Ariel Henry resigns at 8:00am, at 8:05am, we will unblock the road and all the trucks will be able to go through to get fuel."

Police unions in Haiti have requested help from the military to help with reinforcing the main prison of the capital. However, negotiations weren't made in time, resulting in a major breach of security and the storming of the facilities.

 As a last resort, one of Haiti's police unions posted to X in an effort to rally fellow policemen in the capital with cars, weapons, and ammunition, saying, "If we don't act now, later will be sadder."

"Since we let bandits take the penitentiary we are done. No one will be spared in the capital because there will be 3000 extra bandits now effective, the Police in the PRINCIPAL will not be able to manage anything anymore," the X post translated from Creole to English stated."Stick together, stick together, stick together, together we can avoid the disaster. Never forget, the best way to defend is to attack and attack well!"

CBS News reports gangs attempted to seize control of Haiti's main international airport, the Toussaint Louverture International Airport, on Monday, exchanging gunfire with police and soldiers. Their attempt was unsuccessful.

The police academy was also reportedly attacked, where more than 800 cadets were being trained.