Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

What We're Watching

Are Haiti’s gangs cooking up a coup?

​A demonstrator holds up a Haitian flag during a protest against Prime Minister Ariel Henry's government and insecurity, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti March 1, 2024.

A demonstrator holds up a Haitian flag during a protest against Prime Minister Ariel Henry's government and insecurity, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti March 1, 2024.

REUTERS/Ralph Tedy Erol
Make us preferred on Google
Where in the world is Haiti’s prime minister? Nobody knew for a few days. Ariel Henry left the crisis-wracked Caribbean island nation in late February on a trip to Guyana and then Kenya, where he signed an agreement for a Kenyan-led police force to come to Haiti.

Since then … it had been mostly crickets from Henry, even as Haiti burned. Then, late Tuesday, Henry left New Jersey to fly home, but his plane was reportedly denied entry to Haiti and the Dominican Republic, so he landed instead in Puerto Rico.

Over the weekend, Haiti's powerful gangs busted thousands of criminals out of prison, prompting the government to declare a state of emergency. Undeterred, the gangs have also attacked the main airport of Port-au-Prince, the capital, where various criminal organizations already control some 80% of the city.

One man claims credit for the surge in violence, Jimmy Chérizier, the fearsome ex-cop-turned-gang leader known as “Barbecue.” He has called for Henry’s resignation and threatened to make it impossible for the PM to return to the country.

Henry, as a reminder, took over after the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse and has postponed elections citing security concerns, even at the cost of his legitimacy in the eyes of the public. But now, stuck outside the country entirely as gangs run riot within it, he risks losing control of the country altogether.

More For You

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian displays a memorandum of understanding after signing it in Tehran, Iran, on June 18, 2026.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian displays a memorandum of understanding after signing it in Tehran, Iran, on June 18, 2026, after the document was signed by US President Donald Trump.

Iranian Presidency via ZUMA Press
What does the US-Iran deal mean for Tehran? The interim agreement to end the war, signed by both sides on Wednesday, appears to tilt toward Iran: it lifts the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, grants sanction waivers for Iranian oil products – meaning Tehran no longer has to sell oil at a discount – and gives the Islamic Republic access to [...]
People walking along the Dubai Creek Harbour

People walk along Dubai Creek Harbour, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 6, 2026.

REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo
Will the Gulf pay for its own protection from Iran? Iran could reportedly receive up to $300 billion in a reconstruction fund for its battered economy as part of its interim peace deal with the US, which is expected to be formally signed in Switzerland on Friday. While the structure and management of the potential fund are unclear, US President [...]
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu at a news conference

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a news conference, following a US-Iran deal, in Jerusalem, June 15, 2026.

REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool
US-Iran deal could spell disaster for NetanyahuIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was already struggling in polls ahead of elections later this year, but his situation might get worse after Washington and Tehran agreed to a deal (pending its signing on Friday). Why the issue with ending the war? Israel ploughed resources into the war, its [...]
A man holds an Iranian flag on a street while reading a newspaper

A man holds an Iranian flag on a street, after U.S. and Iranian officials said they had reached a deal to end their war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, in Tehran, Iran, June 15, 2026.

Majid Asgaripour/WANA via REUTERS
Is the US-Iran deal the real deal? The United States and Iran said Sunday that they had reached an interim agreement that could end the months-long war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Officials are expected to sign the deal in Switzerland on Friday, following the G7 summit in France. If signed, it would mark the biggest diplomatic breakthrough [...]