Violence spilled over into Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince on Tuesday (September 13th) as gunfire broke out, roadblocks and tires were set alight on city streets and protesters threw rocks in an angry response to expected new fuel price hikes and crime.
The latest demonstrations come as inflation has hit its highest level in a decade, chronic gang violence has left much of Haiti beyond the government’s reach, and outbreaks of bloody battles between rival gangs have killed hundreds and thousands of exiles.
Reuters photos from the capital show protesters carrying the body of a man at a demonstration. According to the protesters, the victim was killed at the demonstration.
Haitians are now bracing for higher fuel prices following Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s speech on Sunday (September 11) amid growing shortages of gasoline and diesel, which could force some businesses to shut down.
Haiti’s fuel stocks are running low as fuel importers struggle to pay subsidies that keep fuel prices low in the island nation and because of difficulties in getting dollars from the central bank, sources told Reuters.
