HAITI | UN Sound the Alarm! But where are the Oligarchs?

The Caribbean nation of Haiti stands at a precipice of chaos, with coordinated gang violence pushing the country toward what UN officials now grimly call "total collapse."

As armed groups systematically expand their territorial control, paralyzing Port-au-Prince and decimating essential services, the specter of a failed state looms larger with each passing day.

María Isabel Salvador, the UN's Special Representative to Haiti, delivered a stark warning to the Security Council: "We are approaching a point of no return." Her message was unequivocal — without immediate and decisive international intervention, Haiti's fragile institutions will crumble under the weight of organized crime's increasingly sophisticated campaign of terror.

The Numbers of Despair

The numbers paint a horrifying picture of deterioration. In February and March alone, more than 1,000 Haitians were killed, with nearly 400 more injured. But these aren't just statistics — they represent families torn apart, communities shattered, and a nation hemorrhaging hope. The violence has displaced an additional 60,000 people, pushing the total number of internally displaced Haitians to a staggering one million by late 2024.

Methodical Brutality

Gang expansion has taken on a methodical brutality. Previously untouched areas like Delmas and Pétion-Ville — once considered safer havens — now fall under the shadow of gang control. The storming of Mirebalais marked the fifth prison break in less than a year, releasing hardened criminals back into a country already drowning in lawlessness.

A Society in Ruins

With 85 percent of the capital now under gang control, the fabric of civil society is unraveling at an alarming rate. Health services are in ruins, with less than half of Port-au-Prince's medical facilities operational and two-thirds of major public hospitals shut down. Education has become a casualty of violence, with over 900 schools forced to close their doors. The result is a generation of children growing up in the crossfire, denied both safety and opportunity.

International Failure

The international response has been inadequate at best, negligent at worst. The Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission, authorized by the Security Council in October 2023 and led by Kenya, remains chronically underfunded and understaffed. "The country needs us more than ever," Salvador emphasized, yet the mission limps along without the resources necessary to counter well-armed, well-coordinated gangs.

But then, Haiti is no Ukraine ! The people are Black and poor, the land is almost barren, and its resources have almost been stripped by France and the United States. The last vestiges are now controlled by the eleven or so oligarchs who run the gangs and controll the ports.

Where the Ukraine can, at the drop of a hat command billions in aid and investment, Haiti can barely scrape a few millions in its effort to eke out a miserable existence!  Where is the equity?

Humanitarian Catastrophe

The humanitarian crisis has reached catastrophic proportions. A record 5.7 million Haitians — more than half the population — face acute food insecurity through June. Among them, 8,400 people are projected to face IPC Phase 5 catastrophe, teetering on the brink of starvation. UNICEF estimates that 2.85 million children — a quarter of Haiti's youth — confront persistently high levels of food insecurity.

Agencies at Breaking Point

UN agencies scramble to maintain even minimal operations. Commercial flights into Port-au-Prince remain suspended, key roads are blocked, and funding shortfalls threaten to shut down critical lifelines. The World Food Programme, which reached a record one million people in March, urgently needs $53.7 million to continue operations over the next six months. UNICEF's childhood nutrition program faces a crippling 70 percent funding gap.

Citizens Take Up Arms

In the absence of state protection, ordinary Haitians have formed makeshift defense groups to protect their families and communities. Thousands have taken to the streets demanding security from a government that increasingly appears powerless to provide it. Yet these desperate acts of self-preservation only underscore the depth of institutional failure.

Amy Pope, Director General of the International Organisation for Migration, recently returned from Port-au-Prince with a warning: "The cost of inaction will not only be measured in lives lost, but also in broader instability that affects us all." Her words echo a sobering reality — Haiti's collapse would send shockwaves far beyond its borders, destabilizing the entire Caribbean region.

CARICOM's Critical Moment

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM), of which Haiti is a full member since 2002, now faces its most critical test. The regional bloc, originally designed to promote economic integration and cooperation, must pivot to crisis management if it hopes to prevent one of its members from becoming a failed state. CARICOM's response has been cautious, marked more by communiques than concrete action. Yet the organization holds unique leverage: it understands the region's dynamics, shares cultural ties with Haiti, and possesses the moral authority to demand more from both its member states and the international community.

What CARICOM must do is clear: First, it needs to spearhead a regional security initiative that goes beyond the faltering MSS Mission. This means mobilizing member states' security forces into a CARICOM-led stabilization force, backed by Caribbean expertise in community policing and conflict resolution. Second, CARICOM must leverage its collective diplomatic weight to secure sustained international funding, not just humanitarian aid but resources for rebuilding Haiti's shattered institutions. Third, the organization needs to facilitate a regional sanctions regime targeting those who profit from Haiti's chaos — including oligarchs and business elites suspected of financing gang operations.

The Oligarchs' Shadow Government

As gangs continue their territorial expansion, questions swirl about who truly pulls the strings in Haiti's descent into chaos. While violence proliferates in the streets, power may flow from far more comfortable quarters. The crisis has deep historical roots in the stranglehold that wealthy elite families — including the Brandts, Mevs, and Apaids — have maintained over Haiti's economy since the Duvalier dictatorship.

These oligarchs have systematically undermined democracy whenever it threatened their economic interests. When Jean-Bertrand Aristide won the 1991 election with almost 70% of the vote, his pro-poor policies — including tax enforcement, minimum wage increases, and price controls — directly challenged their monopolies. The response was swift and brutal: in 1991, these families orchestrated a coup, offering up to $5,000 to individual soldiers and police officers to overthrow the democratically elected government.

History repeated itself in 2004. During Aristide's second term, figures like André Apaid and Charles Baker financed opposition groups and reportedly paid gang leaders in neighborhoods like Cité Soleil to disrupt governance. One gang leader allegedly received $30,000 and the promise of a U.S. visa to turn against Aristide. The Group of 184 (G184), dominated by these same elite interests, coordinated rebel activities that led to yet another coup.

This pattern of elite resistance has perpetuated Haiti's cycle of instability. By funding coups and manipulating political outcomes, the oligarchs have created an environment where violence and exploitation thrive. Today, as gangs control 85% of Port-au-Prince, the question remains: who truly benefits from the chaos?

Breaking the Cycle

The international community must now confront not just the symptoms of Haiti's crisis, but its root causes — including the shadowy nexus of money and violence that keeps the nation trapped in a cycle of suffering. CARICOM's task extends beyond immediate security concerns: it must bring these oligarchs to the bargaining table alongside international stakeholders, including the United States, France, and Canada, to establish a governance structure that cannot be undermined by concentrated wealth.

The Cost of Inaction

WFP Country Director Wanja Kaaria put it bluntly: "Above all, the country needs peace." But peace in Haiti will require more than humanitarian band-aids. It demands a reckoning with the forces — both internal and external — that have allowed a nation to be held hostage by organized crime. The world's continued inaction isn't just a failure of policy; it's a moral indictment of our collective conscience.

Haiti doesn't need more empty promises. It needs the international community to match its rhetoric with resources, its concerns with concrete action. Without it, we aren't just witnessing the death of a nation — we're complicit in its murder.