In the past several weeks, I have watched dozens of sleek U.S. military planes descend over Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where I live. They were the first flights to land since gangs blockaded and halted commercial air traffic in March. U.S. news reports suggest that the aircraft contained civilian contractors and supplies to pave the way for the deployment of a Kenyan-led security mission to Haiti, which is expected to begin any day now.
But no one has informed Haitians who or what was on board. Even the members of Haiti’s new transitional government told me that they did not know precisely what the United States was flying into the country. Although the Haitian members of the presidential council have met with Kenyan and Haitian officials to discuss the force, they said they have not provided input to U.S. officials. Aides to newly installed Prime Minister Garry Conille confirmed that he has had no say on decisions related to the mission. It remains unclear what the force’s specific goals are or how it can contribute to rebuilding the Haitian state.
Looks like they’re getting ready for whatever play they intend to make against the gangs and are trying to keep exacts on the hush hush to avoid the gangs being able to make preparations.
They’re called gangs in print but it’s worth remembering that these organizations have military training and equipment at their disposal far exceeding what you’d picture when someone says the word “gang”, at this point it’d be more accurate to consider them warlord bands.
There’s something off to me about the media exclusively referring to them as gangs.
I feel like if they were in another part of the world they’d be calling them paramilitaries or militant groups.
It’s because they want to remove the political goals some of these groups have from their public narrative.
Which, you can debate how underhanded doing something like that is, or how good or bad based on what those narratives are.
You have any information about their political goals? I went looking not too long ago and I wasn’t really able to find much.
I don’t have sources but I’ve heard tell the biggest gang right now is led by a guy who guys by BBQ, and his stated goals are basically a combination of Liberation rhetoric and demanding the government submit to his authority as the legitimate transitional executive.
Yes. Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier. Former cop. Alleged to have perpetrated massacres against the public killing dozens of people and burning down hundreds of homes. As a leader of G9 he publicly threatened genocide unless the prime minister of Haiti stepped down.
This is all information I got from Wikipedia. I don’t know the veracity of any of it. I don’t live in Haiti and don’t really follow the situation there. Whoever Jimmy is, he doesn’t have very good PR. That’s all I can say for sure about him!
Sounds like his political goals are “I want all the power”
Fairly standard political goals then
According the the Haitian guy who comes in from time to time where I work his family had to leave due to the gangs. Its what he calls them so I think that is what I should call them.
There’s something off to me about the media exclusively referring to them as gangs.
I think that “strongmen” or maybe “warlords” is normally reserved for people who control a lot more territory than this.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gang_war_in_Haiti.svg
Each group here controls tiny patches of territory.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gang_war_in_Haiti
By 2022, researchers estimated that about 200 gangs operated across Haiti. Of these, half were located in Port-au-Prince. The more influential gangs control large swathes of territory, including entire municipalities and communes.
There’s something off to me about the media exclusively referring to them as gangs.
It’s about fixing the narrative in the public mind. They do similar shit in almost every foreign news story, especially places, we are not supposed to like
If we call them that then we have to call their migrants refugees and give them asylum.
Ah, there it is.
I am very concerned about the situation in Haiti and the global public seems to have a very poor understanding of the situation. Media coverage of the crisis there has been very biased and superficial. This concerns me because the powers that be may not have Haitians’ best interests at heart and without public oversight these military solutions could end up creating further problems.
If anyone here lives in Haiti I would be very interested to hear any knowledge they could share of what is really happening and how they think it can be solved.
A couple of years ago I had a conversation with a Haitian native on this very topic. While I deleted my reddit account and no longer have access to that conversation, the gist was…
Americans don’t seem to understand that every time they swoop in to ‘save’ Haiti, what they are really doing is enforcing the same colonial ideals that landed Haiti in the mess to start with.
There’s no politician in play down there that isn’t on the take. His opinion was just to leave it alone and let the gangs sort it out. Either they’ll pull together a government or the last gang standing will.
His statement had a lot more anger and quite a few expletives… They’re just sick of all of us, y’all.
Americans don’t seem to understand that every time they swoop in to ‘save’ Haiti, what they are really doing is enforcing the same colonial ideals that landed Haiti in the mess to start with.
You might find the article reassures you on this point if you decide to read it!
The truth is that the United States outsourced the Haiti mission to Kenya. U.S. President Joe Biden has admitted as much: “We concluded that for the United States to deploy forces in the hemisphere just raises all kinds of questions that can be easily misrepresented about what we’re trying to do,” Biden said in May during a news conference with Kenyan President William Ruto, adding, “So, we set out to find a partner or partners who would lead the effort that we would participate in.”
Is there reason to think this is anything more than a fig leaf? The US is obviously heavily involved in directing this effort, even if Kenya is doing the dirty work.
What would convince you?
I mean you read the article right? It’s all about how the US has created this multinational coalition but that it’s really calling the shots. It almost seems like your excerpt was deliberately chosen to omit all of the other information that supports what I’m saying.
So, I guess there would have to be a large accumulation of information that the US was not directing these efforts, despite members of congress and others having already confirmed that fact.
Kenya as far as I know has no experience in operations of this type — do you think it’s reasonable to expect them to do this alone? It makes sense that the US are helping to get this up and running. I expect a fuller handoff when whatever they’re doing is in place.
I’m not making a statement about Kenya, I’m saying I don’t trust the US’s intentions in this case based on their historical actions in Haiti. But no, I don’t think it would be good for Kenya to be involved unilaterally either. I would prefer to see a non-military solution.
Can you make 2+2=5?
Not saying it isn’t a fig leaf, but does.kenya really have the ability to project peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts on another continent? It stands to reason they’d need a partner with the infra and equipment to actually make the mission happen. The US is literally best in the business on this topic, and is nearby.
That can be true, before and exclusive of US political meddling. (Which is for sure possible, I’m not discounting that, I’m just not addressing it here)
No of course not. But I don’t see how that’s relevant. Kenya is just a puppet here, they don’t matter at all other than as a tool for the US. Kenya has no interest in this issue beyond what the US directs. The two countries didn’t even have any diplomatic contact before this scheme was concocted.
To my understanding, Kenyans will be physically there. Kenya has interests. Thats pretty disrespectful of their commitment to suggest they " have no interest in this beyond what the US directs"
I’m just describing the situation as it exists. Whether it’s respectful to the Kenyan government or not is not my concern.
But I am curious what possible interest you think Kenya could have in this matter given that it is a regional power from the other side of the world that had almost no relationship with Haiti before last year. Besides, apparently, an interest in whatever the US is offering in exchange for this adventure.
Media coverage of the crisis there has been very biased and superficial.
Can you be more specific? Is there any particular coverage that you find biased and superficial?
I will admit that some outlets undoubtably cover this better than others, but that is the case in all conflicts.
Is there any particular coverage that you find biased and superficial?
Very hard to find one that is NOT biased. Canibal savage gangs? Sure
The whole framing of this conflict as a “gang” issue is very problematic in my view, since these warring factions are more of competing political actors seeking to control the country. While they may or may not be engaged in traditional criminal activity, their primary goals are political, not merely economic as with typical organized crime. Yet there has been essentially no attempt to explain who the various factions are and what their goals are. They are just described as gangs that are going on killing sprees for no reason (with an unspoken implication that Haitians are just violent savages). From my limited research on the topic, this is highly inaccurate.
That said, I really am not too knowledgeable about the situation there which is why I was hoping someone from outside of the US media ecosystem could share some real knowledge.
You mean Afghanistan 2.0?
Heres someone from Haiti talking about it
Lol, sounds totally unbiased to me…
After all, why wouldn’t you believe in unbiased reports from a channel named “neutrality studies”?
Sounds fair and balanced to me.
A lot of it is truthful information for sure. But sentences along the lines of “the west has never forgiven Haiti” are quite obviously biased and tell of a rather black-and-white view of the world. The west is not monolithic. Haiti is so far away from those countries that most of the west probably couldn’t care less about what’s happening in Haiti. Just like most South American countries couldn’t care less about what’s happening in Ukraine.
With the former colonial powers of Haiti, especially France, that’s of course a different case and they contributed a lot to the sad state of affairs in Haiti.
Or “if I were president of Haiti, first thing I would do is remove Haiti from Caracom”. Yeah… Okay why? Whatever the history was, why would someone think that less regional cooperation would improve anything for Haiti? Also what kind of undemocratic mindset is that? You could at least say “I would do a referendum.” Alright, she was probably joking… But she’s definitely far from unbiased or objective.
In any case I think if you asked the average Haitian what they would like to see in their country it’s probably the same thing people need and crave everywhere: Peace, and a good economical perspective to improve their livelihood. And for that it doesn’t matter if you’re part of an empire or not. You can very much be free and be part of an empire.
Ultimately you need stability to achieve peace and prosperity and the chances for that are often even higher when you’re part of an empire. Most people on earth would always prefer peace and stability over revolution if there’s any alternative to the latter.
Fair and Balanced was Fox News’ slogan for 20 years. They finally retired it because even they didn’t want to pretend it was true anymore. I was just making a joke to go with your opinion.
Thats a lot of words to say you dont understand politics
a Kenyan-led security mission to Haiti
This is very odd, but also very intriguing. The President met with Biden a month ago, so this tracks. I kinda hope this happens just to see how it plays out.
Edit: this will also be a great test of who reads past the headline. There are going to be a lot of knee-jerk “Murica Bad” comments.
The President met with Biden a month ago
But…the president IS Biden…
OHHH!!! You mean the president of Haiti. Ok. Didn’t realize they had a president. That whole sentence threw me for a loop.
I’m going to blame this heatwave frying my brain. I’m not stupid, I’m just…stupid.
…wait.
Ha, sorry about that — the President of Kenya, actually. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/05/23/fact-sheet-kenya-state-visit-to-the-united-states/
I’m just glad for once the US is letting some other country take the lead. Let the Haitians hate Kenya for trying to stabilize their country. I’m sure the US will be seen and the puppeteer pulling the strings though.
Foreign Policy – Bias and Credibility
Bias Rating: Least Biased
Factual Reporting: High
Country: USA
Press Freedom Rank: Mostly Free
Media Type: Magazine
Traffic/popularity: High Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: High Credibility
MediaBiasFactCheck.com: About + Methodology
Ad Fontes Media Rating: Middle / Reliable
By: Pierre Espérance
Archive Link: 21 Jun 2024 22:32:15 UTC
Mbfc isn’t that reliable, anymore.
Idk why but I’m getting big deja vu from this story.
Russian warships in Cuba causes deja vu too.
Haiti needs some American Freedom…
Didn’t know Haiti had oil.
Indeed, Haiti is believed to have significant oil reserves. Recent findings suggest that these reserves could be even larger than those of Venezuela! The estimated untapped reserves include up to 941 million barrels of crude oil and 1.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas¹². Areas thought to be rich in oil include the Central Plateau, the bay of Port-au-Prince, Thomond, and the Cul-de-sac plain. Scientists attribute this potential to the tectonic activity where plates meet in the ocean, often harboring substantial hydrocarbon deposits ready for exploitation¹. While Haiti has not yet fully tapped into its oil resources, the discovery holds promise for the nation’s economy and the well-being of its population¹. Interestingly, the Oil Trade Journal of 1919 even hints at earlier oil seepages in Haiti, coupled with natural gas seepages that amazed local natives¹. So, yes, Haiti does indeed have oil potential! 🛢️💡🌎
Source: Conversation with Copilot, 6/21/2024 (1) What Are The Major Natural Resources Of Haiti? - WorldAtlas. https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-are-the-major-natural-resources-of-haiti.html. (2) Haiti has trillions of dollars’ worth of natural gas - TFIGlobal. https://tfiglobalnews.com/2022/11/02/haiti-has-trillions-of-dollars-worth-of-natural-gas-but-the-west-doesnt-allow-it-to-prosper/. (3) Energy profile: Haiti - Global Energy Monitor. https://www.gem.wiki/Energy_profile:_Haiti. (4) Haiti Oil reserves - data, chart | TheGlobalEconomy.com. https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/haiti/oil_reserves/. (5) List of countries by proven oil reserves - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_proven_oil_reserves.
maybe lithium or any of its friends.
or even able bodied workers desperate enough.
America’s been imposing its ideas of freedom on Haiti for almost 200 years now. It never goes well for the Haitians.
That’s the price of the American Freedom…
There’s no way the US is going to surprise invade, if that’s the hidden question-headline here.
https://youtu.be/wBYLkoED5i4?si=P9MD7rqmvabKZFkq
For anyone interested in the perspective of haitians
I don’t think the reason the US hasn’t sent soldiers is because it doesn’t have 3000 available.
Might be because russian subs are in cuba?
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