Abigail Shimniok

Haiti’s government declared a state of emergency on March 3 after nearly 4,000 inmates escaped from the National Penitentiary, the country’s largest prison. Another prison in Croix-des-Bouquets was overrun by gang members the same day.
A nighttime curfew was put in place to restore order by the country’s finance minister Michel Patrick Boisvert. Boisvert is temporarily in charge of the Haitian government due to the prime minister Ariel Henry being overseas in Kenya attempting to rouse support from the U.N. to help the country with its deadly gang violence.
U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said Henry stressed the need for urgent action, especially in providing financial support for the mission, “to address the pressing security requirements of the Haitian people and prevent the country from plunging further into chaos.”
Boisvert called upon Haitian police to use “all legal means” to recapture the escaped prisoners and enforce the nightly curfew, but this has proved to be difficult as Haiti, a country with over 11 million people, only has 9,000 active-duty police officers.
Hours after the curfew was put in place, Haitian gangs attacked the Toussaint Louverture International Airport. Gang members breached the airport perimeter but failed to seize control of the building after exchanging gunfire with police and airport security on the tarmac.
Gangs were already estimated to control around 80% of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, but now they are targeting attacks towards the Central Bank, which was previously thought to be untouchable by the Haitian government.
98 of the 3,798 inmates being held at the penitentiary did not escape, according to the Office of Citizen Protection. Meanwhile, at the Croix-des-Bouquets prison, 1,033 escaped, including 298 convicts. A vast majority of the prisoners were in pre-trial detention, with some accused of slayings, kidnappings and other violent crimes.
The Office of Citizen Protection said late Monday that it was concerned about the safety of judges, prosecutors, victims, attorneys and others following the mass escape.
The escape, “deplored and condemned the policy of nonchalance” demonstrated by government officials amid the attacks.