Haiti Port Access Blocked Amid Gang Violence and Humanitarian Crisis

Land access to a crucial supply port in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, is being restricted due to attacks by armed gangs, according to operator Caribbean Port Services (CPS). CPS announced that all land-based traffic will be barred from September 26 to 29 to allow the army and national police to secure the area. Ships have been targeted, preventing them from docking and unloading containers, with reports of two Filipino crew members being kidnapped from a cargo vessel in the port.

Haitian leaders at the United Nations General Assembly have expressed concerns about escalating insecurity in the country, despite the presence of a U.N.-backed security force. Powerful gangs, armed with weapons mainly trafficked from the United States, have formed an alliance in the capital and now control most of the city, expanding into nearby areas. Over 700,000 people have been internally displaced, living in makeshift camps in schools with no fixed income as food prices rise and hunger rates increase.

Haiti’s transition council president, Edgard Leblanc Fils, addressed the U.N. General Assembly, calling the situation a humanitarian emergency and a threat to national stability. He highlighted the 42% increase in food prices in July and urged the Security Council to consider transforming the under-funded Kenyan-led security force into a formal peacekeeping mission for more stable funding, troops, and equipment. Earlier this year, Haiti’s main seaports and international airport closed for nearly three months due to a surge in violence, prison breaks, and the resignation of the last prime minister.

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