A gang kills two journalists in Haiti

Two Haitian journalists were killed by a gang of the periphery of the capital Port-Prince, said the radio station that employed the victims. Wilguens Louissa

A gang kills two journalists in Haiti

Two Haitian journalists were killed by a gang of the periphery of the capital Port-Prince, said the radio station that employed the victims.

Wilguens Louissaint and Amady John Wesley were killed on Thursday in a shootout and a third journalist who accompanied them managed to escape, the Radio Ecoute FM station told AFP.

The homicides occurred when the criminal gangs have expanded their reach beyond the marginal neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince.

The Laboule 12 area, from where the three journalists reported on Thursday, is the subject of intense clashes between armed bands that try to take control of the area.

A route that crosses the area is the only alternative to reach the southern half of the country, in addition to the main road, controlled since June by one of the most powerful gangs in the country.

Six months ago President Jovenel Moise was killed in his private residence of the capital, adding Haiti into an even deeper political crisis and worsening the safety situation that his inhabitants must face daily.

The country registered at least 950 kidnappings in 2021 according to the center for analysis and research on human rights.

Less equipped and facing criminal groups that have strong arsenals, Haiti police have not tried to organize any large-scale operations against gangs since March 2021.

On March 12, four police officers were killed when trying an operation in a neighborhood of Puerto Príncipe used by a band to hide their kidnapped.

The impunity of the gang shows the weaknesses of Haiti's criminal justice system, where investigations are rarely successful.

The murder in April 2000 by journalist Jean Dominique, the most famous reporter on the island at that time, remains unresolved.

In June 2021, journalist Diego Charles was killed, along with an opposition political activist and other 13 people. Those responsible have not been identified by the authorities.

The photojournalist Vladjimir Legagneur never returned from a trip he undertook in March 2018 to make a report in the Martissant neighborhood, now fully controlled by gangs.

The police still did not reveal the results of a DNA test that they said he would do in a body found a few days after his disappearance.

The investigations of other journalists are also still unfinished in June and October 2019.

Date Of Update: 07 January 2022, 11:57