Armed gang shot dead a politician in Haiti
2022.10.29 08:09
Armed gang shot dead a politician in Haiti
By Tiffany Smith
Budrigannews.com – Haitian media reported on Saturday that a well-known politician was killed in what appeared to be a gang attack in a wealthy suburb of the capital, Port-au-Prince, amid a gang blockade of a fuel terminal that has caused a humanitarian crisis.
On Friday night, assailants shot at Eric-Jean Baptiste’s car as he was driving back to his home in the Laboule 12 area. He is the leader of the Rally of Progressive National Democrats (RDNP).
The perpetrator of the attack was not immediately clear. Reuters inquired for information, but received no response.
A gang known as Ti Makak, which in recent years has emerged from obscurity to become a powerful criminal organization involved in extortion and kidnapping, is increasingly in charge of Laboule 12.
The assassination of the former Haitian senator Yvon Buissereth, who was killed in the same area in August, was attributed to Ti Makak by one state official.
In response to a government plan to cut fuel subsidies, the G9 gang, which is not related to Ti Makak, has been blocking the Varreux fuel terminal since September and has demanded that Prime Minister Ariel Henry resign.
A strike force mission to confront gangs and reopen the terminal has been discussed by the United Nations, but it is unclear who would lead such a force.
