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  • COE and UN World Food Programme sign agreement to strengthen disaster response

    COE and UN World Food Programme sign agreement to strengthen disaster response

    In Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic’s national Emergency Operations Center (COE) has formalized a new strategic partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) through a signed Memorandum of Understanding, aimed at lifting the country’s ability to prepare for, respond to and recover from major emergencies and natural disasters.

    This collaborative agreement centers on three core pillars: targeted technical assistance, systematic institutional capacity building, and innovative advancement in risk management practices. The overarching objectives are to streamline cross-agency coordination, upgrade national early warning infrastructure, strengthen humanitarian logistics networks, and improve the speed and accuracy of emergency decision-making at all levels of government.

    Under the terms of the partnership, the two organizations will implement a series of coordinated initiatives. These include upgrading national information gathering and analysis systems, scaling up functional early-warning frameworks and early-intervention mechanisms that allow for faster action before disasters strike, optimizing humanitarian aid mobilization through the existing Sectoral Logistics Committee, and enhancing public communication systems to ensure life-saving alerts reach at-risk communities without delay.

    To embed these improvements in long-term operations, the partnership will also deliver targeted training programs, practice drills and joint full-scale exercises designed to upskill emergency management personnel and boost both their technical expertise and on-the-ground operational effectiveness. Additionally, the collaboration will reinforce national Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis (DANA) processes, which play a critical role in guiding the allocation of humanitarian resources and prioritizing post-disaster recovery work across affected regions.

    This new cooperation comes at a critical moment for the Dominican Republic, which faces repeated annual exposure to a wide range of natural hazards, including Atlantic hurricanes, tropical storms, flash floods, prolonged droughts, seismic activity, dangerous landslides and seasonal forest fires. All WFP activities carried out under this agreement will align with the organization’s 2024–2028 Country Strategic Plan for the Dominican Republic, a framework that prioritizes advancing food security, improving nutritional outcomes, expanding social protection systems, and helping local communities build long-term resilience to climate change and recurring emergencies.

    Overall, the agreement is projected to significantly strengthen the Dominican Republic’s ability to safeguard civilian lives and protect household livelihoods across the country, by building a more coordinated, faster-acting and community-centered national disaster management system.

  • Tropical Storm Dolly forms as fourth named storm of 2026 Hurricane Season

    Tropical Storm Dolly forms as fourth named storm of 2026 Hurricane Season

    The 2026 Atlantic hurricane season has marked its fourth official named storm, with the Dominican Institute of Meteorology (Indomet) confirming the formation of Tropical Storm Dolly over open Atlantic waters.

    As of the latest official update from Indomet, the newly formed storm is positioned hundreds of miles east of the Lesser Antilles island chain, currently packing maximum sustained winds of 65 kilometers per hour. Meteorologists tracking the system confirm that Dolly is maintaining a steady westward track across the Atlantic basin, a trajectory that brings it closer to Caribbean landmasses over the coming days.

    In response to the storm’s development, Indomet has issued a public advisory urging all residents in potentially affected regions to remain vigilant, closely monitor real-time updates on the storm’s changing path and intensity, and follow all guidance released by local and national emergency management officials. Climate and weather experts note that the early formation of multiple named storms in a single Atlantic hurricane season is consistent with shifting oceanic and atmospheric patterns that have increased storm activity in the basin in recent decades, underscoring the need for ongoing preparedness across Caribbean and North American coastal communities.

  • What is being committed against Cuba today is genocide

    What is being committed against Cuba today is genocide

    Authored by Yadirys Echenique Paz, Cuba’s top diplomatic representative to Grenada, this opinion piece argues that the long-running United States economic embargo against the Caribbean island nation meets the definition of genocide—even without direct military strikes or violent armed conflict inflicted on the Cuban public. For more than nine million Cuban citizens, this embargo has functioned as a wide-reaching policy of collective punishment that has pushed everyday hardship to levels that severely compromise access to basic necessities required for modern life. Paz questions what moral or strategic justification could ever exist for a global superpower to inflict this level of cruelty on a small developing island nation. At the core of the current crisis is a deliberate strategy of economic strangulation that includes a targeted energy siege designed to cut off all fuel supplies to the island. A January 2026 U.S. executive order expanded existing punitive measures, threatening harsh secondary sanctions against any third country that attempts to ship fuel to Cuba. The devastating impact of this policy is already clear: over a seven-month period, only one commercial vessel successfully delivered fuel to Cuban ports. This extraterritorial coercion extends far beyond Cuba’s borders, forcing sovereign nations to comply with the U.S. embargo and participate in collective punishment that directly violates core norms and foundational principles of international law, according to Paz. The tangible harms of this policy are already visible across nearly every sector of Cuban society. The national power grid has lost an average of 1,400 megawatts of generating capacity daily, leading to extended, widespread blackouts that disrupt residential access to electricity, cripple water pumping infrastructure, halt agricultural output, and shut down industrial operations. Tourism—Cuba’s primary source of new foreign currency—has been effectively paralyzed by widespread aviation fuel shortages and U.S. pressure on international hotel chains that operate on the island. Even the most basic elements of daily life have been upended: crops rot in fields without power for irrigation or processing, manufacturing facilities remain shuttered, and millions of households go for hours or days without access to electricity or running water. Cuba’s public health system, long a source of national pride and a global model for accessible care in developing nations, is now facing an existential threat. Unplanned power outages that occur during invasive surgeries or while patients are receiving critical care in intensive care units can literally mean the difference between life and death for vulnerable patients. Compounding this crisis is the backlog of thousands of shipping containers holding life-saving medical supplies and staple food products, held in international ports after U.S. pressure coerced global shipping lines to halt service to Cuba. The U.S. has also launched a coordinated campaign of misinformation to discontinue Cuban medical international cooperation programs, a vital source of foreign income for the Cuban government, which only worsens existing shortages of essential health and food resources. The U.S. offensive against Cuba extends far beyond the energy sector. A second executive order, issued May 1, 2026, expanded secondary sanctions to target all foreign individuals and private companies that maintain any form of legitimate commercial ties with Cuba. Paz characterizes this move as a systematic effort to fully disconnect the Cuban economy from global markets, forcing the country into total isolation that inflicts direct, daily harm on the entire civilian population. Even as these harms mount, U.S. policymakers continue to deny responsibility for the crisis with complete impunity—though their position has failed to win unanimous support even within the U.S. Congress, where a growing number of lawmakers have publicly broken ranks to oppose the embargo. The cumulative economic cost of the decades-long U.S. blockade now exceeds $150 billion, a staggering sum that is reflected in every blackout, every failed harvest, and every life-threatening surgical interruption experienced by the Cuban people. Independent experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council have already warned that these coordinated punitive measures are intentionally designed to create a “silent Gaza” in the Caribbean, triggering simultaneous collapses in energy distribution, transportation networks, and basic public services that disproportionately harm low-income and other vulnerable populations. “Deliberately depriving a people of the means to survive is an assault on the right to life and human dignity,” the experts stressed. For Paz, the conclusion is unambiguous: the punitive policy implemented by the United States against Cuba amounts to economic genocide, a violation of international law that the global community cannot afford to tolerate. The piece closes by emphasizing that destroying a people does not require bombs or bullets; cutting off access to the basic essentials required for life is enough to inflict catastrophic harm. Defending Cuba’s right to exist free from external coercion and violence today, Paz argues, means defending the fundamental sovereign rights of all small nations. It requires the international community to speak out against a policy that punishes millions of innocent civilians and attempts to force a sovereign country to bend to foreign will through hunger and darkness. *Note: NOW Grenada disclaims responsibility for the views and content shared by contributing authors, and provides a channel for users to report abusive content.*

  • At least 1,408 people were killed and 656 injured in Haiti, 2nd quarter (report)

    At least 1,408 people were killed and 656 injured in Haiti, 2nd quarter (report)

    A devastating new United Nations report has laid bare the full scale of human suffering unfolding across Haiti in the second quarter of 2026, documenting more than 1,400 deaths and hundreds of injuries linked to widespread violence perpetrated by armed gangs, vigilante groups, civilian unrest, security force operations, and activity by a private military contractor.

    Released by the Human Rights Service of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), the report covers the 13-week period from April 1 to June 30, 2026, and reveals that men made up 85% of all fatal and injured victims, while women accounted for 11% and children 4% of the total toll.

    The data also exposes a ongoing crisis of gender-based violence carried out by armed gangs, with at least 796 confirmed rape victims recorded across the quarter. Of these victims, 772 were adult women, 23 were underage girls, and one was a man. A staggering 87% of all recorded cases were gang rapes, and 98% of all sexual violence incidents were concentrated in Haiti’s West Department.

    Beyond the capital Port-au-Prince, armed gangs have continued to expand their territorial control, with violence escalating sharply in the agricultural heartland of Artibonite and new incursions launched into the previously more stable Southeast Department. In Artibonite, one of Haiti’s key farming regions, armed groups have targeted rural communities, executing residents inside their homes and killing farmers as they worked in agricultural fields. To the south, the notorious Village de Dieu gang launched multiple violent raids around the town of Séguin, an area that had largely avoided this type of large-scale gang violence prior to the second quarter.

    Alongside killings and sexual violence, gangs have maintained a thriving kidnapping-for-ransom trade across the country. The report records at least 81 abductions for ransom between April and June, with 63% of these cases taking place in the West Department and 27% occurring in Artibonite.

    The report also documents the growing threat of explosive drone attacks targeting civilian populations, with at least nine civilians – including six children – killed or injured by unmanned explosive devices during the quarter. Three police officers were also killed in violence, with two additional officers sustaining serious injuries.

    Some of the worst bloodshed of the quarter unfolded in two densely populated areas of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince: the sprawling Cul-de-Sac Plain and the working-class neighborhood of Cité Soleil. Rival gangs clashed there in intense, prolonged battles for control of strategic territory and lucrative illicit revenue streams. The fighting left 463 people dead, hundreds more wounded, and hundreds of others subjected to sexual violence. More than 18,000 residents were forced to flee their homes to escape the violence, and all local health and education services were suspended indefinitely as a result of the unrest.

    The full 30-page report in English is available for public download via HaitiLibre at the published link.

  • Massacre : The high command of the Haitian National Police (PNH) has gone to Kenscoff

    Massacre : The high command of the Haitian National Police (PNH) has gone to Kenscoff

    Less than 48 hours after a brutal mass killing shook the mountainous Haitian town of Kenscoff, the top leadership of the Haitian National Police (PNH) traveled to the violence-stricken community on August 26, 2026 to evaluate the aftermath and shore up security amid widespread grief and calls for accountability.

    Leading the delegation was Vladimir Paraison, the Acting Director General of the PNH, who was joined by multiple senior members of the police high command. The official trip came in direct response to a coordinated attack carried out by armed groups overnight between August 23 and 24, 2026, which preliminary reports confirm left at least 60 people dead.

    During the visit, Paraison held closed-door talks with local municipal leaders and the commander of the Kenscoff district police station to map out the full scope of the violence and align on urgent security interventions. Following these discussions, Paraison issued formal orders to deploy additional elite, specialized PNH units to the areas most impacted by the attack, boosting visible patrols and response capacity to prevent further bloodshed.

    In a public statement following the meetings, Paraison extended his deepest condolences to the families of those killed and injured in the massacre, emphasizing that the national police force remains unwavering in its commitment to holding every perpetrator and accomplice accountable. He specifically directed the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police (DCPJ) to launch a full, unobstructed investigation into all circumstances surrounding the attack, with a key focus on uncovering how heavily armed assailants were able to infiltrate the core of the Kenscoff commune without detection.

    The investigation’s mandated outcomes are clear: PNH high command aims to uncover any internal complicity or institutional negligence that allowed the attack to proceed, identify all individuals linked to the planning and execution of the massacre, assign clear legal and institutional responsibility, and pursue full legal action against all parties found responsible.

  • DNA wil opheldering over cyanidevangst en illegale invoer chemicaliën

    DNA wil opheldering over cyanidevangst en illegale invoer chemicaliën

    A recent interception of two trucks carrying suspected illegal cyanide at the Burnside checkpoint has triggered widespread concern and rigorous questioning among members of Suriname’s National Assembly, with lawmakers pressing the government for clarity on cross-border smuggling controls, safe storage protocols and unregulated hazardous chemical use in the country’s gold mining sector. The incident, which unfolded earlier this week, has reignited long-simmering tensions over environmental risks, including unresolved questions about a recent mass fish die-off in the Saramacca River that has been linked to toxic runoff from small-scale and illegal gold extraction.

    Mahinder Jogi, a legislator from the VHP party, opened the debate by flagging gaps in government handling of seized hazardous materials, pointing to a high-profile prior case where a cache of confiscated mercury stored at a local police station went missing without explanation. Jogi demanded the government confirm whether all legally required protocols have been followed for the newly seized cyanide shipment, including details on how the toxic substance is being secured, what safety protections are in place to prevent accidental leaks or theft, and what violations prompted the seizure of the two trucks in the first place.

    Rabin Parmessar, parliamentary leader of the opposition NDP, focused his questioning on systemic failures in border control, noting the shipment entered Suriname from neighboring Guyana through the country’s western border region. While Parmessar praised law enforcement for successfully intercepting the cargo at the Burnside checkpoint in Coronie, he questioned why the unauthorised shipment was not detected earlier along its route through the country. He warned that cyanide is unlikely to be the only hazardous substance being smuggled across the border, noting illegal mercury and other toxic chemicals used in unregulated gold mining also regularly enter Suriname from Guyana, and called on the government to explain how it is policing these illicit flows. Parmessar also reminded the government that the National Assembly has been waiting weeks, if not months, for a full official report on the Saramacca River fish kill, stressing that parliament has not dropped the issue and will continue to hold authorities accountable.

    Asis Gajadien, VHP parliamentary faction leader, centered his remarks on the growing prevalence of unregulated cyanide use in Suriname’s interior gold mining sector. He told the assembly that over the past several months, a large number of new mining pits using cyanide for ore extraction have been established in remote interior regions, creating major risks for groundwater and river ecosystems. Gajadien called on the government to ramp up oversight of the sector, placing responsibility for stronger enforcement on the Ministry of Oil, Gas and Environment and the National Environment Authority. He also proposed that modern monitoring tools, including satellite imagery, should be deployed to track unauthorised expansion of mining activity across sensitive interior landscapes.

    Lawmakers across party lines extended praise to Surinamese law enforcement for successfully intercepting the two trucks, but united in calling on the government to prioritize secure, compliant storage for the seized cyanide to prevent environmental or public health disasters. The government has confirmed it will respond to all parliamentary questions during an official sitting scheduled for Thursday.

  • GHRA seeks international intervention to protect Indigenous Amerindians from gold mining

    GHRA seeks international intervention to protect Indigenous Amerindians from gold mining

    On Tuesday, August 25, 2026, the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) issued an urgent formal appeal to the United Nations Development Programme, the European Union, and top global and regional human rights bodies calling for immediate intervention from the United Nations and Inter-American human rights systems to defend the territorial and human rights of Indigenous Amerindian communities in Guyana’s Chinese Landing region, where a controversial gold mining expansion is set to begin imminently.

    The appeal targets a broad roster of senior global leaders, including the UN Secretary-General, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, President of the UN General Assembly, President of the UN Security Council, head of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Secretary-General of the Organization of American States, Chair of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), the President of the European Union, and Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the UN. GHRA is pushing for global bodies to pressure the Guyanese government to immediately enforce long-ignored interim precautionary measures ordered by the IACHR to protect Indigenous lands, and to rein in private mining actors that have disregarded regional human rights recommendations.

    GHRA has framed the situation as a rapidly escalating crisis, warning that the imminent expansion of mining threatens to destroy Indigenous communities’ traditional lands, way of life, and physical assets. The rights group emphasized that the urgency of international intervention stems directly from the Guyanese government’s refusal to comply with the IACHR’s July 24, 2023 order for interim protection measures for the Indigenous communities that hold legal and traditional ownership of the contested lands. Far from enforcing the court-ordered measures, GHRA says the government has allowed a private mining operator to move heavy excavation and extraction equipment onto the territory despite widespread protests from local residents. “The situation is fraught with danger for the Indigenous Peoples and their lands and properties. Indigenous Lives are at risk. And the Government of Guyana is a silent witness to these events, instead of providing protection to the Indigenous Peoples affected,” the association stated in its appeal.

    The organization also highlighted systemic gaps in the protection of Indigenous rights across Guyana, noting that the country’s existing legal framework is not aligned with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and that a formally established national Commission on Indigenous Rights has never exercised its mandate to protect Indigenous communities. “Indigenous peoples are without protection, notwithstanding the existence on paper of a Commission on Indigenous Rights – which has never acted in protective mode,” GHRA said. The group is calling for the immediate establishment of an international monitoring regime to oversee compliance with global Indigenous rights norms in Guyana, and for an urgent situation report to be submitted to both the UN Human Rights Council and UN Security Council.

    Local Indigenous leaders have corroborated the GHRA’s warnings, detailing the mining operator’s repeated attempts to sneak heavy equipment onto their titled territory despite a lack of free, prior, and informed consent required under Guyana’s Amerindian Act and national constitution. In a public statement posted to Facebook, the Chinese Landing-Tassawini Village Council reported that mining operators recently redirected excavators that were blocked from entering Chinese Landing territory, offloading the machinery at nearby Kariako, a part of the village’s titled land, without notifying or gaining approval from the village council.

    “The excavators were ordered to leave Kariako lands immediately because the village council were not informed and no consent was given by the Kariako VC. It seems as though the miners would not leave but using all options to enter into Tassawin,” the council’s statement read. Over recent days, villagers have staged peaceful protests to block access to the Tassawin backdam, after recording the entry of at least nine excavators, two bulldozers, and multiple dredge engines transported via barge, all without formal village approval. The council confirmed all equipment is registered to a private miner that holds claims to several disputed mining blocks within the village’s official title.

    The village council noted it has been participating in good-faith mediation talks with the miner while a formal court case over the mining claims remains pending, and that the operator’s push to advance mining preparations during negotiations undermines the entire mediation process. “We consider it inappropriate for (the named miner) to prepare for or carry on mining activities while these discussions are ongoing, as these actions undermine the legitimacy and fairness of the mediation process,” the council said.

    After the on-duty officer from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) told the village council he lacked the authority or willingness to block the equipment from entering the disputed blocks, villagers made the decision to stage a physical blockade to stop the machinery from advancing deeper into their traditional lands. The village council has formally called on the Ministry of Natural Resources and GGMC to suspend all mining operations in the area until mediation concludes and the village grants formal consent for extraction activities. Mining on the site first resumed in March 2026, with the council only notified of the restart during the National Toshaos Conference held this past July.

    Responding to the escalating conflict, Vickram Bharrat, Guyana’s Minister of Natural Resources, told local outlet Demerara Waves Online News that the government is currently facilitating dialogue between the Indigenous community and the mining operator.

  • FAO: New agenda to mobilise investment in LAC agrifood systems

    FAO: New agenda to mobilise investment in LAC agrifood systems

    Against a backdrop of stark global food security challenges and untapped agricultural potential, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has brought together a diverse coalition of cross-sector stakeholders for a two-day high-level regional dialogue focused on reimagining agrifood system financing across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Held on 18 and 19 August, the summit gathered 70 participants spanning government bodies, regional integration blocs, international aid agencies, multilateral development banks, private financial institutions, private sector operators and family farming advocacy groups to craft a actionable roadmap shifting from incremental financial inclusion to large-scale, high-impact investment in rural LAC territories.

    LAC occupies an outsize strategic role in global food production, but the region simultaneously contends with overlapping systemic challenges: high vulnerability to climate shocks, widespread food insecurity, and chronic gaps in accessible financing for small-scale producers. Current levels of investment in the region’s agrifood systems remain woefully insufficient and fragmented, mismatched to the scale of both the challenges the sector faces and the untapped opportunities it holds.

    Speaking at the summit, Rene Orellana Halkyer, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for LAC, framed the urgency and stakes of the gathering. “Latin America and the Caribbean is a global agrifood powerhouse, but 32 million people still suffer from hunger, and nearly 70% of food producers face insurmountable barriers to accessing formal finance,” he noted. “We have an opportunity and a shared responsibility: to transform the region’s agrifood potential into concrete investments that strengthen food security, climate resilience, and rural development opportunities.”

    Chilean Minister of Agriculture Jaime Campos Quiroga, who spoke at the event’s closing ceremony, emphasized the need for context-specific financing solutions. “In our view, financial solutions must take into account different scales of production, the particular characteristics of the territories, and the special conditions that farmers face every day,” he said.

    Over the course of the dialogue, participants aligned on five core priorities to scale up sustainable agrifood financing across the region. First, delegates called for moving beyond siloed, isolated projects to build integrated territorial investment portfolios that combine production infrastructure, value chain development, digital connectivity, technical support, market access, data-driven planning and customized financial instruments tailored to each region’s unique needs.

    Second, the meeting underscored the critical need to invest in human and institutional capacity within rural communities, through expanded financial literacy programming, targeted technical assistance, business management training, and support for collective producer organizations. Third, participants prioritized building interconnected collaborative ecosystems that bring together public sector bodies, development banks, private financial institutions, producer cooperatives, private businesses, impact investors, academic institutions, international aid agencies and local territorial organizations to align efforts and avoid duplication.

    Fourth, delegates agreed that climate action must be placed at the center of all investment decision-making, requiring the translation of national environmental commitments into bankable investment portfolios that incentivize sustainable production practices, ecosystem restoration, climate-resilient infrastructure investment, improved water governance, and expanded access to index-based agricultural insurance for small-scale producers.

    Finally, participants unified around the principle that small and medium-sized family farmers, their representative organizations, and marginalized rural communities must be centered in all future agrifood investment agendas. To deliver on this goal, delegates proposed developing needs-tailored financial solutions embedded in inclusive territorial financial ecosystems that combine accessible financing, on-the-ground technical assistance, market information, risk management tools, improved market access, and cross-stakeholder partnerships.

    During the summit, FAO outlined its ongoing role supporting LAC countries to create enabling conditions that connect territorial needs and opportunities to financing, technical knowledge, innovative practices, and long-term investment. Orellana Halkyer highlighted that FAO currently manages over $1 billion in programming across more than 400 active projects in 33 LAC countries, giving the organization unique on-the-ground presence that allows it to bridge local producer needs, national public policy frameworks, technical expertise, data, and cross-sector partnerships with financial institutions and development partners.

    The regional dialogue counted participation from senior government authorities across the region, including Chilean Agriculture Minister Jaime Campos Quiroga, Brazilian Secretary of Family Farming and Agroecology Vanderley Ziger, Guatemalan Undersecretary of Investment for Development Enrique Estuardo Maldonado, and Costa Rican Administrative Vice Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Julián Arias. Public and development financial institution representatives included delegations from Paraguay’s Agricultural Credit Agency, Brazil’s Bank of the Northeast, Bolivia’s Productive Development Bank, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF).

    Private sector financial institutions, impact investors and financial inclusion organizations were also represented, with participants from Cresol, Fundación PROFIN, Aliados de Impacto, BBVA, and Vox Capital. International bodies and regional integration mechanisms in attendance included the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), the Caribbean Community (Caricom), the World Bank, the MERCOSUR Specialised Meeting on Family Farming (REAF/MERCOSUR), and the UN System Resident Coordinator’s Office.

    The two-day dialogue marks a key milestone in a longer-term regional conversation focused on building resilient local financial ecosystems capable of supporting the diverse needs of LAC producers, producer organizations, cooperatives and agrifood enterprises, while turning untapped productive opportunities into viable, sustainable and inclusive investments. Participants closed the summit by reaffirming the shared need to advance a new generation of agrifood investments that balance productivity gains, inclusive growth, climate resilience and equitable territorial development, while strengthening public-private collaboration to expand financing opportunities for underserved rural communities across the region.

  • 47 Killed in Overnight Gang Raid Near Haiti’s Capital

    47 Killed in Overnight Gang Raid Near Haiti’s Capital

    On a violent overnight incursion that has sent fresh shockwaves through Haiti’s already unstable security landscape, at least 47 people were killed and 22 others wounded in a gang raid on Kenscoff, a hillside community overlooking Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince, the United Nations confirmed in a statement released Monday. Local human rights organization RNDDH has offered a slightly lower preliminary estimate, placing the death toll between 30 and 40 and the number of injured between 15 and 20, noting that a full, accurate accounting of casualties remains hampered by ongoing unrest and restricted access to affected areas.

    Kenscoff, which commands strategic views over critical supply and transit routes leading into Port-au-Prince and neighboring Petion-Ville — the current home of Haiti’s temporary government headquarters and numerous foreign embassies — has faced a persistent wave of gang violence since last year, with at least 12 separate attacks recorded that have forced thousands of residents to flee their homes to seek safety elsewhere.

    The Haitian government has labeled the latest attack an “heinous” act of violence and pledged to ramp up security deployments to the region, but the assault has sparked widespread public anger. Kenscoff residents are now calling for the local police chief to step down, arguing that armed officers failed to intervene even as the killings unfolded mere minutes away from the local police station. Vladimir Paraison, Haiti’s national police chief, has pushed back against the criticism, defending his personnel by stating “The police never gave up.”

    For many residents of the violence-stricken community, however, blame lands firmly on national authorities. “My family are victims,” said Coriolan Kendy, a local resident who spoke to reporters while standing beside the body of his slain cousin. “People in Kenscoff are suffering and the government is to blame.”

    This latest massacre is only the most severe in a years-long surge of bloodshed in the area: in the first two months of 2025 alone, more than 260 people were killed across Kenscoff. Since that wave of violence, nearly a dozen additional attacks have been recorded, including widespread reports of sexual violence, mass kidnappings, and deliberate arson attacks on civilian property.

    Beyond the immediate human cost, the attack has deepened long-running international concerns about Haiti’s ability to proceed with its long-delayed general election scheduled for December. The vote will be the first national election the country has held in a decade, and rising gang control of large swathes of territory has thrown the logistics and legitimacy of the poll into increasing doubt.

    A United Nations-backed multinational Gang Suppression Force, deployed to help Haitian authorities retake territory from armed gangs, currently aims to reach its full authorized strength of 5,500 troops by the upcoming autumn. As violence continues to escalate ahead of the election, however, questions are growing over whether the understrength force will be able to stabilize the country in time to allow for a safe, democratic vote.

  • Barbados, Venezuela deepen energy, trade ties

    Barbados, Venezuela deepen energy, trade ties

    In high-level diplomatic talks held in Caracas on Monday, leaders of Barbados and Venezuela have formalized a sweeping bilateral cooperation agreement that aims to deepen economic and people-to-people ties across multiple critical sectors, with energy collaboration at its core.

    The landmark joint declaration, signed by Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley and Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez, builds on preliminary discussions held in Bridgetown back on April 27, outlining clear action plans for 10 priority areas from food security to tourism, education to transportation. Both nations have committed to immediate implementation of the agreement, with regular progress checks scheduled every six months by their respective foreign ministries.

    At the heart of the new partnership is expanded energy cooperation. Beyond enabling commercial trade of hydrocarbons and oil derivatives between the two countries, Venezuela will share its industry expertise by providing specialized training and capacity-building programs for Barbadian energy workers. It will also extend technical support for land-based hydrocarbon exploration and the rehabilitation of mature oil fields. Looking toward a low-carbon future, the two countries will jointly explore investment opportunities in renewable energy development and related infrastructure projects, and a dedicated technical working group will be set up to track the execution of all energy-related commitments.

    Food security, another top priority, will see the two governments develop a coordinated joint work plan that addresses climate resilience in agriculture, covering climate adaptation, sustainable resilient farming systems, improved livestock management, soil conservation, and joint agricultural research and development. They will also formalize a bilateral protocol to standardize import and export regulations for meat products, and open up new opportunities for cross-border investment in agricultural land.

    In the fisheries sector, the partnership will focus on unlocking joint investment in fish processing, value addition, distribution logistics, and the transfer of industry knowledge and technology. For education, the agreement paves the way for expanded student and teacher mobility, starting with pilot scholarship programs that will launch for the 2027/2028 academic year in both countries. Language teacher exchanges will also kick off in the same academic term, and negotiations are underway to finalize a Mutual Recognition Agreement that will validate educational qualifications for language courses and other professional training programs across both nations.

    Tourism collaboration is set to move forward quickly: the two countries expect to sign a dedicated bilateral tourism agreement within the coming weeks, designed to boost two-way visitor arrivals, improve coordination between private tour operators, and develop new multi-destination travel packages that highlight the attractions of both nations. Barbados’ Minister of Tourism will undertake an official visit to Venezuela within the next four months, and the first ever Binational Tourism Meeting is scheduled to be held in 2027.

    To support growing trade ties, the two countries have agreed to work toward launching a dedicated direct maritime cargo route, and will promote the existing Bridgetown-Porlamar-Caracas air route, with the shared goal of positioning both nations as key regional air connectivity transit hubs.

    The talks also included recognition of recent humanitarian support from Barbados to Venezuela, following the double seismic event that struck the country on June 24. President Rodríguez extended public gratitude to the government and people of Barbados for deploying search and rescue teams, delivering critical humanitarian supplies, and setting up a fully functional field hospital in Guarenas, Miranda State. To date, that field hospital has provided medical care to more than 2,600 Venezuelan residents. During her visit, Prime Minister Mottley toured the facility, met with patients and the Barbadian medical team deployed there.

    To oversee the full spectrum of cooperation projects, a permanent Binational Joint Commission will be established, which will convene for annual meetings, alternating between the two capitals Caracas and Bridgetown. In the coming weeks, Venezuela’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade will pay a reciprocal official visit to Barbados to continue advancing the terms of the new agreement.