A state of emergency was declared after armed gangs stormed Port-au-Prince jail (Picture: EPA/GETTY)
Thousands of prisoners escaped in a huge jailbreak this weekend, sparking chaos on the streets of Haiti’s capital.
The government imposed a 72-hour state of emergency amid an outbreak of violence in Port-au-Prince which has seen at least nine killed since Thursday, including four police officers.
Gangs stepped up coordinated attacks on state institutions including the two biggest prisons in a bid to bring down the authorities.
Almost all of the estimated 4,000 inmates of the National Penitentiary managed to get out, leaving the usually overcrowded facility eerily empty yesterday, with no guards in sight.
Plastic sandals, clothing and furniture were strewn across the concrete patio while three bodies with gunshot wounds lay at the prison entrance.
Those held at the jail included killers, kidnappers and other violent criminals, the government said.
The jailbreak happened in Haiti, a country that shares the Carribean island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic (Picture: Metro)
Tyres on fire near the main prison of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, today (Picture: AFP)
People carry their belongings during the ongoing civil unrest in the city centre yesterday (Picture: EPA)
A police officer holding a gun in action while confronting a gang during a protest against Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s government on March 1 (Picture: Reuters)
Prime minister Ariel Henry is out of the country having travelled abroad last week to try and gather support for a UN-backed security force to stabilise the country, which had already been struggling to overcome powerful crime groups.
The gangs, which already control around 80% of the capital, say they want to force his resignation.
Gang leader Jimmy Chérizier (a former cop turned warlord nicknamed ‘Barbecue’ for burning victims alive) declared a coordinated effort to remove him, saying all the armed groups in the capital are ‘united’.
Finance minister Patrick Boisvert, serving as acting prime minister, said police ‘were ordered to use all legal means at their disposal’ to catch the prisoners, including a nighttime curfew.
Some prisoners chose to remain at the prison, including 18 former Colombian soldiers accused of working as mercenaries in the assassination of the president in 2021.
One of them shared a video pleading for help amid clashes on Saturday.
‘Please, please help us,’ Francisco Uribe, said. ‘They are massacring people indiscriminately inside the cells.’
On Sunday, Mr Uribe told journalists who were able to just walk into the abandoned prison: ‘I didn’t flee because I’m innocent.’
People flee as police officers clash with gangs on March 1 (Picture: Reuters)
A person rides a motorcycle through street fires in Port-au-Prince, Haiti (Picture: EPA)
An inmate stands at the National Penitentiary in downtown Port-au-Prince today (Picture: AP)
Inmates gather inside the National Penitentiary in downtown Port-au-Prince today (Picture: AP)
Family members also rushed to the prison to check on loved ones, with information scarce and phone lines down.
‘I don’t know whether my son is alive or not,’ said Alexandre Jean as she searched cells looking for any sign of him. ‘I don’t know what to do.’
Other targets this weekend included police stations, the country’s international airport, and even the national soccer stadium, which was vandalised with an employee taken hostage.
Violence also spread to surrounding streets, with gunfire reported in several neighbourhoods and people seen fleeing with their belongings.
A second prison in Croix des Bouquets was also overrun over the weekend.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.