Haiti PM: Gang members shoot at police vehicle
Members of the G9 Family & Allies gang shot at a police vehicle in Village de Dieu, a neighborhood in Delmas Thursday morning, Haiti’s Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe posted on Twitter.
Jouthe did not say whether any police officers were inside the vehicle during the shooting.
“Police are taking these attacks seriously and are reacting,” he said. “I urge everyone to remain vigilant.”
One day prior, news reports emerged about men in police uniforms participating in recent kidnappings. The Thursday shooting drew suspicion from some residents, many of whom believe the gang is linked to the government led by the PHTK party.
“They’re making a diversion, I thought the name of the gang was ‘G9 PHTK, touch one you touch all of us,’” a Twitter user going by Rodriguez Hernandez Jn-Marc commented on Jouthe’s tweet.
Kidnapping victim said she consoled captors who released her without ransom
Maritza Herard, the wife of the National Palace security chief, said before the kidnappers released her without getting paid any ransom, they cried and she had to console them.
“I took them in my arms and told them not to cry,” she said.
Herard was kidnapped on Sunday in Port-au-Prince and her husband, Dimitri Herard, picked her up in Village de Dieu, an area where gang members live, Tuesday, according to Gazette Haiti. It was initially reported that a ransom was paid, but Herard denies that.
It wasn’t clear if the kidnappers cried because they didn’t get paid, but Herard said they shed tears of grief.
She added that the kidnappers weren’t as ruthless as people may think and that they treated her well. Source
Jovenel Moise meets with foreign diplomats pushing Haiti to hold elections
Jovenel Moise said he had a productive meeting with members of the Core Group, which consists of diplomats from Brazil, Canada, France and the European Union. He made the announcement on his Twitter account Thursday.
In their meeting they talked about next year’s elections, insecurity and dialogues amongst Haitian leaders. The Core Group had pushed Haiti to speed preparations for the elections last week. The Provisional Electoral Council responded by putting together a tentative electoral calendar.
Moïse did not say what additional actions came out of the meeting with Core.