Poverty, political chaos and a high crime rate have plagued the Caribbean country of Haiti for decades. Now, violence has spiraled out of control again.

On February 29, acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced new elections — for August 2025. His term of office had been supposed to end in February so many violent gangs interpreted Henry's announcement as a call to arms. They attacked the National Palace and prisons, which led to over 3,000 prisoners freeing themselves.

These armed groups now control large parts of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, and tens of thousands of residents have fled. Henry is currently in the US unincorporated territory of Puerto Rico. He arrived there from the Kenyan capital Nairobi where was promoting a Kenyan-led police mission to restore security in Haiti.

The former colonial power France bears a historical responsibility for the current crisis.

In 1804, Haiti made history by becoming the first independent country in Latin America and the Caribbean — thanks to the Haitian Revolution, the most successful rebellion by enslaved people in history. But in 1825, France said that it would only recognize Haiti's independence at a price of 150 million francs, the equivalent of about three times Haiti's GDP at the time. France also said that import duties on French products had to be halved.

"Paradoxically, the victors paid reparations to those who had been........

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