标签： Haiti

Intensifying violent clashes between rival armed gang factions have triggered a total shutdown of medical services in Haiti’s conflict-battered Cité Soleil neighborhood, forcing medical non-profit Doctors Without Borders (MSF) to evacuate all patients and suspend its operations indefinitely starting Monday, May 11, 2026.

The outbreak of sustained gunfire, which erupted early Sunday morning between the Chen Mechen gang and its former allies now aligned with the terrorist coalition Viv Ansanm, has spread across the Duvivier and Cité Soleil districts located just kilometers from Port-au-Prince’s international airport. As violence escalated through Monday, hundreds of local residents displaced by the fighting fled to MSF’s community hospital in the low-income Port-au-Prince neighborhood seeking shelter and medical care. The deteriorating security situation quickly turned life-threatening even within the facility’s walls: one of MSF’s on-site security guards was hit by a stray bullet on hospital grounds, leaving staff unable to guarantee basic safety for anyone present.

Local peer facility Fontaine Hospital, the other major medical provider in the conflict zone, also began full evacuation of its patients, moving vulnerable newborns out of its neonatal intensive care unit to safer locations outside the fighting zone. MSF confirmed that it absorbed a number of Fontaine’s transferred patients before suspending services, including several women who had given birth overnight at the evacuated facility.

By Monday afternoon, MSF confirmed that every functioning hospital in the active fighting zone had ceased operations. In an official statement, the organization emphasized that local medical needs have grown exponentially as the conflict has expanded, leaving a catastrophic gap in care for injured civilians and vulnerable residents. The NGO noted that it made the difficult decision to suspend all services after concluding it could not protect its international and local medical staff, nor the patients and displaced civilians sheltering on its grounds, from the ongoing crossfire. As of Monday evening, MSF reported it had hosted more than 800 displaced residents at its hospital before the evacuation, and no functional medical care is currently available to civilians trapped in the Cité Soleil conflict zone.

In a diplomatic gathering held in Rome on Friday, May 8, 2026, Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé led high-stake working discussions with senior representatives from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and a coalition of global development partners, opening a new chapter of coordinated international action to advance Haiti’s long-awaited recovery across multiple critical sectors.

At the core of the talks were four foundational national priorities that the Haitian administration has identified as make-or-break for the country’s stability and growth: rural development, public security, institutional governance, and broad economic revitalization. Prime Minister Fils-Aimé used the platform to reaffirm his government’s unwavering commitment to scaling up targeted investments in Haiti’s rural regions, laying out a clear vision that links these investments to three core national goals: boosting domestic agricultural production, generating much-needed formal employment for Haitian citizens, and strengthening the country’s long-term food sovereignty to reduce reliance on uncertain international imports.

A key policy priority highlighted by the prime minister was the urgent need to reopen the country’s major arterial road networks. He stressed that functional, accessible transportation corridors are a strategic prerequisite to connecting smallholder producers to domestic and regional consumer markets, laying the groundwork for a broader resumption of halted economic activity across the country. In addition to rural and economic priorities, discussions addressed institutional governance challenges, with participants agreeing on the importance of maintaining a robust, effective state presence in the capital Port-au-Prince while continuing to roll out development projects in provincial departments across Haiti.

Fils-Aimé also used the meeting to outline ongoing institutional reforms the Haitian government has undertaken in the justice sector, particularly in the fight against systemic impunity. Among the key upcoming initiatives he detailed is the establishment of new specialized judicial mechanisms designed to investigate and prosecute two of the country’s most damaging challenges: large-scale financial crimes and mass atrocities that have long eroded public trust in state institutions.

In response to the policy framework presented by Haitian authorities, attending international partners voiced unanimous support for the administration’s recovery guidelines. The global coalition, led by IFAD, reaffirmed their long-term commitment to aligning their support with Haiti’s national priorities, with a specific focus on advancing inclusive rural development, building the country’s environmental resilience to climate shocks, and catalyzing new productive investments that drive shared economic growth.

The meeting marks a critical milestone in Haiti’s ongoing efforts to rebuild stability after years of political and humanitarian upheaval, bringing together national leadership and global stakeholders around a shared, coordinated agenda for sustainable recovery.

In a landmark diplomatic and faith-based gathering held on May 9, 2026, Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé took part in a historic audience with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, marking a high-profile moment to draw global attention to Haiti’s ongoing crises. The meeting marked the first stop on Fils-Aimé’s diplomatic visit to the Holy See, ahead of separate talks the prime minister held later with senior Vatican officials: Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations.

During the closed-door discussion between the Pope and the Haitian prime minister, both leaders expressed mutual satisfaction with the longstanding positive ties between the Holy See and the Caribbean nation. Attendees also underscored the outsized, unique role the Catholic Church has played in Haiti throughout its current period of widespread political instability and humanitarian upheaval. The two dignitaries delved into the most pressing challenges facing the country, covering its fractured socio-political landscape, ongoing humanitarian crises, systemic migration pressures, and spiraling security conditions. They also echoed the critical need for coordinated support from the international community to help Haiti navigate its current difficulties.

In a symbolic gesture of national pride amid struggle, Fils-Aimé presented Pope Leo XIV with an official jersey from Haiti’s national men’s football team. The team secured its spot in the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals against steep odds, a achievement that has stood as a rare unifying moment for the crisis-battered nation.

Later the same day, at 4:00 p.m. local time, Fils-Aimé attended a special Mass for Peace in Haiti, celebrated at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major by Cardinal Parolin. The service drew a distinguished audience including senior Vatican officials, members of the global diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, and dozens of members of Haiti’s diaspora community based in Italy. The entire Mass was dedicated to prayer for peace, lasting stability, and national reconciliation across Haiti.

Cardinal Parolin’s homily centered on the interconnected themes of hope, national reconciliation, and global solidarity with the Haitian people. He urged Haitians at home and abroad to commit to a “patient process of building justice and dialogue,” emphasizing that sustainable peace can only emerge from a sincere commitment to reconciliation across all segments of Haitian society. The cardinal voiced the Catholic Church’s deep concern over the widespread human suffering caused by ongoing gang violence, specifically calling out the crises of mass displacement and widespread malnutrition that have left millions vulnerable.

Parolin reiterated that international partners must step up their “necessary contribution” and mobilize greater support for Haiti, stressing that the nation cannot be abandoned to face its security and humanitarian challenges alone. He issued a clear call for a “laying of the guns” by all armed factions, and reaffirmed that the Catholic Church remains a “leaven of peace” and an unwavering source of support for Haiti throughout its current transitional period.

Following the conclusion of the Mass, Prime Minister Fils-Aimé addressed the gathered crowd to thank the Holy See for organizing the prayer service dedicated to his country. He reaffirmed the Haitian government’s core commitments: restoring national security, strengthening fractured national cohesion, and creating the conditions for a lasting return to institutional stability, most notably through the preparation of inclusive, democratic national elections.

Fils-Aimé also highlighted the critical importance of interreligious dialogue in uniting the country, and recognized the central role the Catholic Church already plays in addressing Haiti’s most pressing social needs. He further acknowledged the outsized contribution that Haiti’s global diaspora has made and continues to make to national reconstruction efforts.

In closing, the prime minister repeated his call for expanded support from the international community, and announced that Haiti is pushing for an international solidarity conference focused specifically on addressing the nation’s multiple crises. He expressed his hope that the Vatican gathering would help rekindle a sense of hope and unity among the Haitian people, even amid their most difficult trials.

Five years after the high-profile assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse sent shockwaves across the Western Hemisphere, a federal jury in Miami has delivered a guilty verdict for four men charged with coordinating the deadly plot from U.S. soil. The September 2025 conviction closes a key chapter in the sprawling investigation into the July 7, 2021 attack that killed the sitting Haitian leader, wounded then-First Lady Martine Moïse, and exacerbated years of political chaos and instability in the Caribbean nation.

Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, Walter Veintemilla, and James Solages were found guilty on a slate of federal charges, including conspiracy to provide material support resulting in death, conspiracy to kill a foreign official, conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States, and violating federal law by organizing an expedition against a friendly nation. Additional charges applied exclusively to Intriago include a separate conspiracy count, smuggling tactical equipment from the U.S. to Haiti, and submitting false export documentation.

Top U.S. law enforcement officials emphasized that the verdict delivers long-awaited accountability for a plot that used American territory as a launching pad for political violence abroad. “These defendants conspired to replace and ultimately to assassinate Haitian President Jovenel Moïse,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “Using U.S. soil as a staging ground for a violent plot overseas is a grave violation of our laws and, more fundamentally, our sovereignty.”

U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida echoed that sentiment, noting the plot was driven by personal greed and ambition that destabilized a close U.S. partner. “These defendants pursued power, influence, and profit through violence. They supported a conspiracy that crossed borders, destabilized a friendly nation, and ended with the murder of a sitting president,” he said. “The jury has spoken, and the rule of law has answered.”

Court documents and trial evidence laid bare the full scope of the conspiracy, which began taking shape in early 2021. The four men hatched a plan to violently overthrow Moïse, install a hand-picked replacement, and secure millions of dollars in lucrative government contracts for themselves after the coup. To execute their scheme, they built a cross-border network of co-conspirators across the United States, Colombia, and Haiti, recruiting 22 former Colombian Army soldiers and armed Haitian gang leaders to carry out the attack. To date, eight co-conspirators have already pleaded guilty to their roles in the plot, and six testified for the prosecution during the four defendants’ trial.

Over the three months leading up to the assassination, the group refined multiple plans to kidnap or kill Moïse. An early plot to abduct the president at his sister’s home, drug him, and force his resignation fell through, and a second attempt to kidnap him upon his return from an international trip in mid-June 2021 also collapsed. The group ultimately settled on a direct assault on Moïse’s private residence, ordering their team of Colombian mercenaries to storm the home and kill the president. Black-market weapons and ammunition were secured by co-conspirators inside Haiti ahead of the attack.

On the morning of July 7, 2021, Solages and the team of Colombian mercenaries, backed by local Haitian allies, carried out the attack. A specialized squad of former Colombian special forces operators dubbed the “Delta Team” led the assault, breaking into the residence and fatally shooting Moïse in his bedroom, while seriously wounding Martine Moïse. Ballistics evidence presented at trial matched bullets recovered from the president’s autopsy and the first lady’s surgery to a rifle used by members of the Delta Team. Thousands of pages of digital communications between the co-conspirators also confirmed the four defendants spent months coordinating and refining their plot.

Each defendant played a distinct, key role in the conspiracy: Veintemilla, the group’s financier, funded the plot with a $175,000 loan raised through fraudulent U.S. pandemic relief funds, including Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) money that was funneled through a co-conspirator’s bank account. Within hours of the assassination, Veintemilla contacted a co-conspirator and bragged, “the rat (President Moïse) is in the box.”

Pretel Ortiz, who went by the alias “Colonel Gabriel” and regularly wore counterfeit U.S. military uniforms and insignia, oversaw the plot’s tactical planning and coordinated directly with the Colombian mercenary team. Hours before the attack, he told his co-defendants, “I put my men on the ground and we are still fighting to reach the objective.”

Intriago, Pretel Ortiz’s business partner, managed day-to-day logistics for the plot, including paying co-conspirators and sourcing equipment and supplies. In June 2021, he smuggled bulletproof vests, radios, flashlights, and tactical goggles from Miami to Haiti for the mercenaries, and traveled to Haiti later that month to meet with the group’s local allies. On the eve of the assassination, he messaged co-conspirators, “We finally got the tools to do the work.”

Solages, the group’s on-the-ground liaison in Haiti, made repeated trips between South Florida and Haiti to coordinate with local gang leaders, source weapons and ammunition, and conduct surveillance on Moïse’s residence. During the July 7 attack, he accompanied the mercenary team and gave orders to kill every person inside the residence, reportedly saying they should eliminate “the dog, the cat, and parrot” to leave no witnesses.

All four men now face the possibility of life in federal prison. Federal Judge Jacqueline Becerra of the Southern District of Florida has scheduled sentencing for the end of summer 2026. The case was investigated by FBI Miami and Homeland Security Investigations Miami, with support from the U.S. Department of State, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, and the Defense Department Criminal Investigative Service. A team of prosecutors from the Southern District of Florida and the Justice Department’s National Security Division led the trial.

A high-level diplomatic meeting held in Port-au-Prince on May 7, 2026, has cemented a new chapter of development cooperation between Haiti and the European Union, centered on a €340 million investment package slated for delivery by 2028. The gathering brought together Haiti’s Minister of Commerce and Industry James Monazard, Charles Jean Jacques, National Authorizing Officer of the European Development Fund (EDF), leadership from Haiti’s Investment Facilitation Center (CFI), Justin Petricks, Director General of the National Industrial Parks Company (SONAPI), and senior representatives from multiple Haitian government agencies.

Discussions centered on the EU’s Global Gateway initiative, a flagship infrastructure and development partnership that already maintains an extensive active cooperation portfolio across Haiti. Under the current programming period ending in 2028, the full €340 million allocation will be directed toward core priority sectors including broad-based development projects, public infrastructure, healthcare services, primary and secondary education, renewable and conventional energy access, and sustainable transport networks.

Beyond long-term structural development work, the European Union has reaffirmed its ongoing commitment to delivering emergency humanitarian support to the Haitian people, most notably through continuous airlift operations that deliver critical medical supplies to hard-hit regions facing ongoing instability and resource shortages.

During the talks, participants mapped out a range of untapped opportunities for expanded bilateral economic cooperation and foreign direct investment that are designed to boost Haiti’s domestic industrial development and enhance the nation’s global competitiveness. Attendees also underscored the central role of the Global Gateway initiative as a foundational lever for deepening economic ties between the Caribbean nation and the 27-nation bloc.

Minister Monazard opened the meeting by emphasizing that Haiti must take proactive steps to position itself as an attractive destination for targeted investment that drives inclusive economic growth, generates sustainable formal employment, and expands the country’s stock of critical public and private economic infrastructure. Moving forward, Monazard outlined plans to strengthen cross-institutional coordination mechanisms that will streamline Haitian stakeholders’ access to international financing facilities, and accelerate the delivery of large-scale structuring projects across high-priority strategic sectors: energy, agriculture, core infrastructure, and domestic manufacturing.