The U.S. Embassy in Haiti was closed on Tuesday due to nearby gunfire in the capital city of Port-au-Prince. Haiti has been torn by gang violence and near-anarchy ever since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021.
Thousands of Haitians marched in Port-au-Prince on Monday to demand protection from the gangs, whose depredations have greatly exacerbated poverty and hunger in the tormented island nation. Humanitarian agencies are finding it difficult to get supplies past gang blockades, bringing millions to the edge of starvation.
Security analysts say the gangs control almost 80 percent of the territory in Port-au-Prince and much of the country beyond the capital. Killings and kidnappings soared by 30 percent over the past year.
“I can’t work. I can’t go out. I’m like a prisoner in my own home,” one of the demonstrators complained on Monday.
“I worry about my kids being shot because bullets are flying from all directions, all the time. The…
