Haitian Party Leader and Lottery Magnate Eric Jean Baptiste Assassinated

Facts

• On Friday, Eric Jean Baptiste, a Haitian center-left party leader and lottery business magnate, was shot and killed when his armored vehicle was ambushed in a suspected gang attack in Port-au-Prince. A bodyguard was also killed in the attack.
• Haiti's PM Ariel Henry stated that the tragic assassination, "has once again plunged the Haitian nation into turmoil." He also condemned, "this heinous crime against this patriot, this moderate politician committed to change."
• The killing took place in Laboule, a community within Port-au-Prince. The area has been marred by fighting between the Ti Makak and Toto gangs, which have been battling for control of the territory.
• In the same area, former Sen. Yvon Buissereth was murdered and his body set fire to last August. In January this year, two journalists were killed and their bodies set ablaze. Laboule is located near Pelerin, where Pres. Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in his home in 2021.
• This is the latest killing in a country overrun by violent gangs — around 90K people were internally displaced from Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince over the summer due to, "urban violence linked to inter-gang, gang-police, and social conflicts."
• Haiti is facing a triple threat with humanitarian, security, and political crises looming over the nation. Gangs have blocked seaports and fuel terminals, forcing business and hospitals to reduce their hours and imperiling access to food and drinking water amid a resurgence of cholera.

Sources: Washington Post, FOX News, CBS, Abc, and CNN.

Narratives

• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Peoples Dispatch. Foreign powers are to blame for the ongoing crisis in Haiti - criminal gangs are in cahoots with the US-puppet, illegitimate regime with the aim of provoking chaos and prompting another imperialist intervention. Haitians are fed up with foreign occupations and must be allowed to find a concrete solution for themselves as a sovereign people.
• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Globe and Mail. This killing shows that the situation in Haiti is deteriorating even more, with gang-related violence affecting even the nation's ability to sustain normal activities. The only way to prevent the country from soon becoming a failed state is to suspend its national sovereignty and put the nation under the custody of international governance on behalf of the UN.

Predictions