Speaker 1 (00:02):
Tonight, Haiti spiraling toward anarchy. A 72-hour state of emergency declared after armed gangs stormed two of the nation's largest prisons on Saturday and Sunday according to the government.
Speaker 2 (00:16): [foreign language 00:00:19].
Speaker 1 (00:25): Close to 4,000 prisoners reportedly escaped during the violent assault. The exact death toll is unknown, but bodies were seen lining the streets of Port-au-Prince as police unions publicly pleaded for backup. (00:40) Tonight, the Associated Press reporting heavily armed gangs tried to take control of the country's largest international airport, exchanging gunfire with soldiers as employees fled. The government says gangs that now control an estimated 80% of the nation's capital city following the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse are behind the bloody prison break. (01:07) One of their targets, Haiti's National Penitentiary, houses several high-profile inmates, including Colombian nationals accused of being involved in the plot to kill President Moïse.
Speaker 3 (01:17): [foreign language 00:01:21].
Speaker 1 (01:21): Prolific gang leaders like Jimmy Cherizier, who's known as Barbecue, have been calling for the arrest of Haiti's acting President, Prime Minister Ariel Henry for months. Barbecue doubled down following the prison attacks, releasing a public message telling Haitians the gangs "seek to liberate the country." Henry was out of the country at the time of the prison break, working with leaders in Kenya to finalize an agreement that would fast-track the deployment of police officers for a U.N. approved mission aimed at regaining control of the nation. (01:58) Violence in Haiti is not new, but it is steadily escalating. Last year, the number of people killed in armed gang conflicts was two times higher than the year before.
Speaker 4 (02:09): Haiti is trapped. Trapped with a government that doesn't govern, incapable of doing anything. It looks now like the gangs, which are the only ones that can establish any kind of political order in Haiti, are coming together.
Speaker 1 (02:26): For the residents of Port-au-Prince, help can't come soon enough.
Speaker 7 (02:31): Okay, and with that, Ellison Barber joins us now live in studio. So Ellison, I know you have some new reporting. The State Department spoke out about Haiti today.
Speaker 1 (02:38): Yeah, they did. So they are urging US citizens inside of Haiti to leave as soon as possible. On top of that, Matt Miller, spokesperson for the State Department, he says they are closely monitoring the situation and condemn efforts by gangs to further destabilize and take control of Haiti. Pretty limited in their official capacity right now. I think one of the big questions moving forward and what we'll be watching over the coming days is, where is Prime Minister Henry? He was last seen on camera on Friday in Kenya. Hasn't been seen since then. (03:06) An official with the State Department saying the US believes that he should and is on his way back to Haiti and that they believe he should be allowed to do so. But that's something we'll be monitoring.
Speaker 7 (03:16): You also wonder if the US is going to start evacuation flights because the airport has been taken over at times, flights have been canceled.
Speaker 1 (03:23): There's no way out.
Speaker 7 (03:23): Americans have no way out. Right. Okay. Ellison, we thank you for that.