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After two months of paralysis, the main fuel supply terminal reopened after the G9 armed group decided to lift its blockade. The gang initially shut down its operation in response to rising fuel prices, after Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced that he could no longer subsidize it.
The emotion of the Haitians was felt in the early hours of this Saturday, November 12, when the country’s gas stations reopened for the first time in two months. Haiti’s main fuel terminal, Verreux, had been blocked since September by the armed group G9.
After several days of clashes with the local police, the leader of the G9, an ex-policeman nicknamed “Barbacoa”, decided to lift the blockade on the terminal. Nearly 400 tanker trucks arrived earlier this week at the site, located in Port-au-Prince, the country’s capital, for supplies. They were the ones in charge after depositing the fuel at the country’s gas stations under strong police force.
The Verreux terminal has 70% of the nation’s fuel storage capacity. That is why stopping its operation seriously affected many sectors that need fuel to function, such as the health sector, precisely at a time when Haiti is going through a cholera outbreak.
“We are dying here”
In total, more than one million gallons of gasoline and a similar number of diesel have been distributed through the country’s stations.
During the time of the blockade, gasoline was traded on the black market at about $30 a gallon. A price that many could not afford to pay and that, furthermore, did not guarantee the quality of the fuel.
Arnel, a 28-year-old, summed it up like this: “Not all people are the same. Not everyone has the same ability to survive. We are dying here.”
Despite the joy that comes from seeing the circulation of fuels around the country again, the high prices imposed by the government cause concern to remain among citizens. “They raised gas prices at the wrong time,” said Marc André, a 40-year-old driver. “It’s going to be pretty tough for people who don’t have anything,” he concluded.
In mid-September, Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced that his government could not subsidize fuel, rising in some cases to the equivalent of two to four dollars.
With AP, EFE and Reuters
