For the third day in a row, motorcycle taxi drivers protesting fuel shortages have blocked the national road near Léogâne and Gressier, national daily Le Nouvelliste reported. In Jacmel, the motorcycle taxi drivers also protested Oct. 13, with the town’s mayor, Marky Kessa, seizing gasoline containers from street vendors along the highway.
Protesters say owners of the gas stations are feeding the black market for fuel products by taking part in a scheme with street merchants to drive up prices for drivers.
In prior demonstrations, seen in Cap-Haitien over the summer, the taxi drivers said the gas stations deliberately sell gasoline to street merchants, instead of directly to vehicle drivers at the pump. The merchants then sell the fuel to motorcyclists at higher prices and give a portion of the profits to the gas station owners. Read more