Caribbean leaders are expected to discuss the chaos in Haiti at a meeting this week, and some of them are complaining about the flood of migrants fleeing poverty and violence in their countries.
The conclave of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) will begin on Wednesday in the Bahamas.
Some of the 15 members are proposing to bring Haitian political forces to neutral ground so that they reach an agreement on holding elections in the impoverished Caribbean country, which has been stripped of all democratically elected institutions.
However, the international community and local officials insist that elections cannot be called in Haiti until the violence stops.
Haitian Foreign Minister Jean Victor Généus warned Friday at a meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) that insecurity has increased and will spread to neighboring countries.
“We absolutely must address this problem in Haiti because no other country in the Caribbean will be free from the repercussions,” Généus said.
The meeting will be hosted by Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis, who has persistently complained about the cost of repatriating thousands of Haitians and Cubans in the past year. He says that Caricom must help find a solution to the political, economic and security crisis in Haiti.
Violence has skyrocketed in Haiti as poverty and hunger increase. The gangs have grown more powerful since the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise.
The number of reported kidnappings rose to more than 1,200 last year, more than double the year before. Meanwhile, 1,200 murders were reported last year, an increase of 35% over the previous year, according to the UN.
The violence, coupled with high inflation, has led thousands of Haitians to flee to neighboring Caribbean countries, some with the idea of eventually reaching the United States. Many have died trying, jumping into the sea on flimsy rafts operated by traffickers and smugglers.
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