Terror and anarchy in Port-au-Prince: A Republican leader exposes atrocities of gang rule in Haiti

Walls riddled with bullet holes, officers deployed in heavy armor, and impassable barricades in the streets. That was the scene that greeted a bipartisan delegation from the U.S. Congress during its recent visit to Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital ravaged by gang violence since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast described the situation on the ground after leading the first congressional delegation to visit the Caribbean nation in a decade, as reported by Fox News Digital.

The Republican lawmaker from Florida compared areas of the capital to active war zones, emphasizing that gangs are blocking major roads with debris and deep trenches to prevent police and military units from passing through.

Torture and violence against U.S. citizens

During meetings with local authorities, Mast was shown video footage demonstrating the cruelty of the criminal organizations operating on the island. Among the evidence presented was documentation of the execution of a heavy equipment operator who was collaborating with law enforcement to clear the streets.

"They took this guy who was a machine operator, and because he was working with the police, they kidnapped his family. Then they told him they would exchange his family for him. He turned himself in," Mast told Fox News Digital. The congressman explained that the worker was brutally mutilated and attacked with machetes until he died. "That's what these gangs are like," he emphasized.

Mast also revealed details about the kidnapping of a 6-year-old American girl, who was held by a local gang for more than 45 days. According to the lawmaker, the girl was released following an agreement for her family to pay a ransom, amid suspicions that she had been sexually assaulted during her captivity.

A State Department spokesperson confirmed that they were aware of the reports regarding the girl's kidnapping, noting that the administration's priority is the safety of U.S. citizens abroad.

The institutional crisis and the impact of immigration policies

Despite noting early operational progress driven by the international security coalition and the support of private security contractors, Mast attributed the root cause of the crisis to local political corruption. The congressman asserted that Haitian political leaders plundered their own country and financed gangs for their own benefit, precipitating the collapse of institutions.

In light of the Trump administration's termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for thousands of Haitian citizens, Mast argued that the return of those who did not obtain permanent residency in the last 16 years could contribute to the country's recovery.

The Florida lawmaker maintained that the mass exodus of citizens deprived the state of the human resources necessary to defend its territory.

"One of the most important things would be to take able-bodied men and integrate them into the police and the military, which are actively recruiting and which were decimated by the implementation of TPS in the first place," Mast concluded, noting that the lack of defense personnel facilitated the consolidation of gang power.