FRANCE 24 spoke to Jerry Tardieu, national coordinator of Haiti's "En Avant" (Forwards) political movement and a former opposition MP. Haiti is still reeling from the July assassination of the president, as well as recent kidnappings of missionaries and a deadly earthquake. Tardieu told us that the widespread chaos in the country can be explained by "a collusive relationship" between the authorities and all-powerful armed gangs. Gangs now control "most neighbourhoods of the capital" Port-au-Prince, Tardieu said.
Jerry Tardieu, the national coordinator of Haiti's "En Avant" movement and a former MP, told FRANCE 24 that "this is one of the worst situations" he has seen in Haiti. He described a country controlled by armed gangs, who not only plunder and kill but now openly law down their law to the authorities.
The former MP strongly denounced the collusion between these gangs and certain political and economic elites. Tardieu added that he saw the July assassination of President Jovenel Moïse as a symptom of this phenomenon, which Moïse himself widely encouraged and ended up becoming a victim of.
Our guest told us that the recent kidnappings of foreign missionaries and the attacks on places of worship mean the country is no longer facing ordinary crime but "terrorism". He called on the authorities to step up, regretting the "lack of leadership" of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
Tardieu described Haiti as a "failed state", despite 15 years of UN presence and $10 billion spent. He added that elections cannot be held under viable conditions until the end of 2022.
