Haiti’s Political Crisis Deepens Amid a Slide Into Criminal Governance
Confrontation on the Transitional Presidential Council is not only about leadership, but about whether a future transition can reduce the influence of armed groups.
Haiti has long been shorthand for crisis. Yet even by the standards of the Western Hemisphere's poorest country, the past few years mark a sharp deterioration. Gangs that once held a few blocks of poor neighborhoods now operate as coalitions that control much of Port-au-Prince and reach into key routes and towns outside the capital. These networks do not just terrorize; they govern. They tax residents, settle disputes, control access to markets, and decide who may work, trade, or leave. This is criminal governance, armed rule over territory and services the state cannot reliably...
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