Haiti's capital is close to falling to armed gangs. Here's what you need to know

Haiti’s capital is again in free fall. The attacks by armed gangs that in recent days have seized control of new neighborhoods is raising fears that metropolitan Port-au-Prince could fall at any moment.

In the past month, a record 60,000-plus people have been forced to flee their homes — many finding refuge in soiled makeshift camps with no latrines or potable water, and where rapes are a frequent occurrence. The new displacements have added to the more than 1 million people who had already fled their homes, according to United Nations figures.

Making matters worse, nine in 10 Haitians go all day without eating in what has been described as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. The gangs have resumed kidnappings, while burning hospitals and destroying schools. The violence also continues to force a ban on U.S. commercial flights at the main international airport.

Now, the Trump administration is weighing a travel ban that would restrict Haitians’ access to the United States even if they have a U.S. visa.

On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security will publish a notice canceling the work permits and immigration protections for more than a half million people, including 211,040 Haitians, paroled into the United States under a Biden-era humanitarian parole program.

Here are some key questions and answers about the unfolding crisis in Haiti.

How bad is the situation?

The cataclysmic situation in Haiti has been described as “an open prison,” where desperate Haitians are cut off from the world by air, land and sea. Internal displacement, the U.N. says, has surged, rising from 330,000 a year ago to over 1 million at present, as Haitians continue to flee gang violence, which led to more than 5,600 deaths last year. Meanwhile, over 100 government offices and other structures have been forced to shut their doors, relocate or have been destroyed. Only 27% of hospitals nationwide are functioning, the U.N. has said. Cholera, tuberculosis and other diseases are also on the rise as individuals are forced to flee.

How much of Haiti’s capital do gangs control?

Gangs control up to 90% of Port-au-Prince, including strategic neighborhoods and roads that make it difficult to get in and out of the capital. The last road out of the capital to access the country’s four regions in the south is now in the hands of gangs, who recently set fire to a police armored vehicle in the area. Several other roads that Haitians were able to use to get to the airport before gangs opened fire on three U.S. jetliners in November are now in gang territory.

What is not under gang control?

The gangs do not control the Toussaint Louverture International Airport, even though it remains closed to commercial and domestic traffic. They do not control the seaport, although their presence on roads leading into and out of the facility creates a constant fear that they could cut off the access to fuel. They do not control the main police headquarters nor the National Palace, even though the structure was destroyed in the 2010 earthquake. Its grounds remain heavily guarded; gangs have launched attacks around the area. Gangs also do not control the official residence of the prime minister or the offices of the nine-member Transitional Presidential Council.

What happens if gangs take control of key government offices?

Observers say a takeover of the government’s headquarters would be a sure sign of the capital’s fall. So too would a gang takeover of the airport. The airport grounds, however, also serve as the base of operations for the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission and any encroachment by gangs would surely be met by gunfire. The headquarters of the Haiti National Police are also nearby.

What about the international forces in Haiti?

With barely 1,000 personnel, the Kenyan-led forces are still not enough to help police fight gangs, and their future funding remains uncertain amid U.S. funding freezes and the lack of a clear Trump administration policy on Haiti. The administration earlier this year unfroze over $40 million in aid and has allowed the mission to Kenya-led continue to receive equipment that had been set aside by the Biden administration.

What are foreign embassies doing?

The U.S. has refused to say what constitutes a red line in Haiti to close down the embassy. A U.S. ambassador who does not serve in the region said that gangs attacking an airport and making it impossible for U.S. citizens to depart would be a major turning point for the U.S. embassy. Since 2021, the U.S. has repeatedly ordered the evacuation of non-essential staff in Haiti, and its consular services have been closed to visa appointments for the last several years. In recent months, U.S. embassy vehicles have been fired upon by gangs. France has temporarily closed its embassy’s doors due to its proximity to the violence and other embassies in Port-au-Prince are watching the situation to determine their next steps.

Are aid agencies able to work?

The violence has forced humanitarian aid groups in recent days to cancel in-person meetings and shelter in place. Before the current violent surge, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres had already warned that the U.N. political office in Port-au-Prince was down to a skeleton team of 17 people. Most were working from home, he said in a reporter to the Security Council earlier this year.

What have the gangs targeted?

Everything. They control main roads in and out of the capital and frequently target strategic infrastructure such as electrical plants, fiber optic and fuel facilities. Last month, they even targeted the antenna controlling air traffic over Haiti’s airspace. Orphanages and religious orders are among those forced to flee in recent days. The capital’s only critical care hospital, Bernard Mevs, was set on fire, and the largest public hospital is also not operating after gangs also set it ablaze. Over 1,000 schools remain closed, including over 40 that were destroyed by gangs in January, depriving approximately 200,000 children of education, the U.N.’s leading child welfare agency has said. On Monday, gang members kidnapped a 12 year-old child in the community of Kenscoff and set fire to homes. In Delmas 19, they fired on a passenger van, instantly killing the driver, and injuring other passengers.

Why do gangs want control of certain neighborhoods?

Canapé-Vert, Pacot, Turgeau and Debussy are among the oldest and wealthier residential neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince, and also the main source of water for the capital. Their strategic location on the upper south-east end of the capital with easy and direct access to the main arteries in and out of the capital would give gangs full control of Port-au-Prince and the ability to block the Canapé-Vert leading to Pétion-Ville and use it to launch attacks on the economic center of the metropolitan area.

How long can the Haitian government hold out?

This is unclear. The government has been using weaponized drones to strike at gangs strongholds. So far the controversial operation has yet to take out any key gang leaders, and has led to a regrouping by gangs, which have gone on the offensive.

Guterres, the U.N. secretary-general, said the erosion of state authority in Haiti is evident in the destruction of police infrastructure. “Many are in gang-controlled areas or have been damaged by fire or demolished,” he said. Meanwhile, of Haiti’s 21 prisons, 7 are non-functional, including the three largest, all located in the west department, due to extensive damage caused by gangs. The Port-au-Prince and Croix-des-Bouquets Courts of First Instance have also been rendered inoperable by gang attacks.