(Port-Au-Prince) The director of Haiti’s National Police Academy was shot and killed outside a police training center in a gang-controlled neighborhood in the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince , Haitian police announced on Friday evening.
Harington Rigaud’s murder is just the latest in a string of attacks on law enforcement, including killings of police officers and attacks on government buildings. It also comes as Haitian and international authorities grapple with how to control gang violence in the Caribbean country.
A video circulating on social media on Friday shows Rigaud’s bloody corpse lying on the ground. Later that evening, police spokesman Garry Desrosiers confirmed the murder, writing that Rigaud was shot inside an official police vehicle as he was about to enter the building. police academy. Desrosiers was unable to immediately confirm who the perpetrator was, which is not out of the norm in Port-au-Prince, where gangs are estimated to control 60% of the city. .
The country’s crisis worsened following the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, which plunged the country into chaos.
This is just the latest example of how difficult it is for authorities to maintain order, despite the recent lifting of a gang blockade on fuel supplies, which paralyzed Haiti for weeks.
In addition to this crisis, the country has also struggled with a cholera epidemic, malnutrition and the resulting migration exodus.