Port-au-Prince, Haiti - April 05, 2025 Thousands of Haitians took to the streets of Port-au-Prince today, protesting against the growing power of armed gangs that have taken control of much of the capital and surrounding areas. The demonstrators expressed their anger over the government's failure to curb the violence, which has displaced over a million people, crippled the economy, and caused widespread hunger. The gangs, unified under the coalition "Viv Ansanm," are accused of extortion, mass rapes, and killings. Despite efforts from a U.N.-backed security mission, the government has struggled to contain the gangs' advances. Protesters filled the streets, some carrying banners, palm fronds, machetes, and firearms. What began as a peaceful demonstration later turned violent when gunfire erupted, causing panic among the crowds. Critics allege that the government’s ineffective response is tied to widespread corruption and even collusion with the gangs and their financial backers. Although the government denies these claims, Haiti's judicial system remains paralyzed amid the ongoing violence. The protest follows a mass jailbreak in Mirebalais earlier this week. In a separate blow, Haiti was slapped with a 10% tariff on its exports to the United States, its largest trading partner, further straining the country’s fragile economy. The protests are a clear sign of the growing frustration and desperation as Haitians demand action from their leaders to restore peace and stability to the nation. SOUNDBITES TRANSLATION: FILE 1: Name: Clifford Lara / Resident "We take to the streets specifically to tell CP9 leaders, to tell Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, to tell DG Rameau that the people of Solino are saying: 'They can no longer sleep in the camps.'" "The population of Solino needs to return home, because when we were in Solino, it was not like this how we lived." "We say that there must be a serious operation inside Solino, where the police and the population come together to destroy the 'Viv Ansanm' base, which is causing problems in the country." "'Viv Ansanm' is there to destroy all the children of the country." FILE 2: Name: Théolus Anderson / Political Activist "The life of young people who produce nothing, we cannot go to school, we cannot work." "They armed all the young people in the ghettos." "After that, when they finished giving weapons to all the young people in the ghetto, then there is the state, I hear that there is the state, meanwhile, the gangs are taking over the whole country." "I can't go to the provinces, I can't even move in Port-au-Prince." "They walk while chasing everyone: the people of Kafoufèy, the people of Bélair, the people of Cité Soleil, the people from down Christ-Roi." "I ask for justice for those people, for all the soldiers who fell in this matter." "I ask the Haitian state: What does it want to do with the people?" "Is it going to kill the people, or what does it want to do with the people FILE 3: Marx Sampeur / Protestor "The longer the insecurity lasts, the more advantageous it is for these men, because it is insecurity that placed them there. They will never want security. (The 9 members of the CPT)" "How is it that the state holds the monopoly on legitimate violence, yet it is still the one fleeing from the bandits? How do you understand that?" "The state cannot flee from the bandits, it is the one that holds the monopoly on legitimate violence, it is the legitimate holder of violence. How is it that it is the one fleeing?" "All the lost territories are because the state wants it, it is because the state is in collusion with the gangs that these territories were able to be lost."