Haiti Declares Emergency Amid Soaring Gang Violence | JQJO

Haiti's government declared a three-month state of emergency in the central region due to escalating gang violence. This area, vital for food production, has suffered attacks, displacement, and killings, affecting over 239,000 people. The UN reports over 1,000 deaths and hundreds injured and kidnapped since October 2024. A new interim police director general, André Jonas Vladimir Paraison, has been appointed to combat the violence, which has overwhelmed the underfunded National Police. These actions coincide with Laurent Saint-Cyr assuming leadership of the transitional presidential council, tasked with organizing elections by February 2026.