Inside Haiti prison escape as ‘massacre’ unfolds and inmates beg ‘help us’

Armed gangs trying to overthrow the prime minister of Haiti freed almost 4,000 inmates from prison – with some inmates begging “please help us” as a violent “massacre” unfolded in cells.

A state of emergency was declared following a huge attack on the National Penitentiary Prison by armed gangs leaving parts of Port-au-Prince empty and leaving no prison guards in sight. Plastic sandals, clothing, and furniture were all found strewn across the patio after Gang leader Jimmy Chérizier, known by the nickname Barbecue, pledged to oust the country’s acting prime minister Ariel Henry.

He called on the Haitian military and national police to “take responsibility” and arrest Mr Henry, who has served as prime minister since the assassination of Haiti’s last president Jovenel Moise in 2021. The government said it would set out to find the killers, kidnappers and other violent criminals that it reported escaped from prison.

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“The police were ordered to use all legal means at their disposal to enforce the curfew and apprehend all offenders,” acting prime minister and Finance Minister Patrick Boivert said in a statement. It comes as Haiti’s government imposed a nighttime curfew late on Sunday in an attempt to regain control of the streets following the eruption of violence over the weekend.

What happened in the jail?

Gangs stormed Haiti’s main prison overnight on Saturday which led to more than 3,600 inmates managing to escape. At least a dozen people, said to include two prison guards, were killed after police are said to have fled the National Penitentiary.

It’s believed several gang leaders were being held in the prison, which saw around 97 per cent of its inmate population escape. Images and videos of fierce fighting and confrontations with police were widely shared on social media with barricades pictured blocking major roads and neighbourhoods rattled by the sound of sustained gunfire.

Loved ones rushed to the prison to check on loved ones in the absence of official information. Alexandre Jean roamed the cells, looking for any sign of her son, she said: “I don’t know whether my son is alive or not. I don’t know what to do.”

“We counted many prisoners’ bodies,” said Pierre Esperance of the National Network for Defense of Human Rights. During the weekend of violence, police confronted “heavily armed criminals seeking at any cost to free people from custody”.

But they were overwhelmed and “not able to stop the criminals from freeing a large number of prisoners”, said the Haitian Minsitry of Communication in a statement. An AFP reporter who visited the prison said they saw around a dozen bodies laying outside of it with “hardly anyone” left inside.

Some bodies reportedly had wounds thought to be caused by bullets or other projectiles. Haitian’s are no strangers to gang violence, but the latest escalation has seen armed gangs taking over not just prisons, but a football stadium and airport as well.

How many prisoners have escaped?

The country’s largest prison was built to keep 700 inmates, but according to local media reports, held at least 3,687 as of last February. 99 prisoners had decided to stay in their cells despite being freed for fear of being killed in the crossfire.

Among the few dozen that chose to stay in the prison are 18 former Colombian soldiers accused of working as mercenaries in the July 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse. Amid the fighting Saturday night, several of the Colombians shared a video pleading for their lives.

“Please, please help us,” one of the men, Francisco Uribe, said in the message widely shared on social media. “They are massacring people indiscriminately inside the cells.”

On Sunday, Uribe told journalists who walked into the normally highly guarded facility, “I didn’t flee because I’m innocent.” Colombia’s foreign ministry has called on Haiti to provide “special protection” for the men.

Three bodies with gunshot wounds lay at the prison entrance. A second Port-au-Prince prison containing around 1,400 inmates was also overrun.

Gang gunmen also occupied and vandalized the nation’s top soccer stadium, holding one employee hostage for hours, Haiti’s soccer federation said. Gunfire was reported in several neighbourhoods in the capital. Internet service for many residents was down as Haiti’s top mobile network said a fiber optic cable connection was slashed during the rampage.

Why did the violence break out?

In the space of less than two weeks, several state institutions have been attacked by the gangs, which are increasingly coordinating their actions and choosing once unthinkable targets like the Central Bank. As part of coordinated attacks by gangs, four police officers were killed Thursday.

The surge in attacks follows violent protests that turned deadlier in recent days as the prime minister went to Kenya seeking to move ahead on a proposed U.N.-backed security mission in Haiti to be led by that East African country. Mr Henry took over as prime minister following Moise’s assassination and has repeatedly postponed plans to hold parliamentary and presidential elections, which haven’t happened in almost a decade.

Who is ex-cop turned gang leader Jimmy Chérizier?

Jimmy Chérizier, a former elite police officer known as ‘Barbecue ‘who now runs a gang federation, has claimed responsibility for the surge in attacks. He said the goal is to capture Haiti’s police chief and government ministers and prevent Henry’s return.

In a video message on Thursday, Mr. Chérizier said: “With our guns and with the Haitian people, we will free the country.” He added: “Once again, the population is not our enemy; the armed groups are not your enemy. You arrest Ariel Henry for the country’s liberation. With these weapons, we will liberate the country, and these weapons will change the country.”

Chérizier leads a gang alliance and has faced sanctions from the United Nations and US Department of Treasury. Mr Henry has agreed to hold elections no later than the end of August 2025, according to reports.

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