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Haiti’s anti-gang crackdown: About a dozen killed after prison break

MIAMI – Amid an ongoing anti-gang crackdown involving a United Nations-backed law enforcement mission, Haitian authorities reported a prison break turned deadly in Saint-Marc, a coastal city north of Port-au-Prince.

Since the forces arrived in June, Haitian media has reported more are ending up in prisons that don’t have enough resources, so the bandits are just continuing their chaos from there.

According to Haitian authorities, about a dozen died during a shooting related to the search and recovery of escapees after a fiery prison break on Friday to protest a lack of food, Reuters reported.

The $600 million 2024-25 mission led by Kenya also includes law enforcement from the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Barbados, and arrived when gangs controlled the majority of Port-au-Prince, the Associated Press reported.

“Haitians are growing impatient,” Haiti’s interim Prime Minister Garry Conille told the BBC on Aug. 7 adding that the majority of the gang members were minors and security forces are undermanned.

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About the Author

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.

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