Officials say more than 100 inmates have escaped from a prison breakout in Haiti, killing six people, making it the country’s largest and deadliest in a decade. Those killed include a prison director and a powerful gang leader.
The capital, Port-au-Prince, on Thursday is believed to be trying to free breakout gang leader Arnal Joseph, who was Haiti’s most wanted fugitive until his 2019 arrest on charges including rape. , Kidnapping and murder.
Joseph, who was still wearing gel chains on his ankle, was riding a motorcycle in the Artibonite area of Luster Esther City on Friday when he was found at a checkpoint, police spokesman Gary Desroseers told police. . Associated Press. He said Joseph pulled out a gun and died in retaliation for a shootout with police.
Joseph ruled the Village de du, or Village of God, Port — Prince, including some of the communities in Schટાntain, and Artibonite, the largest division of Haiti.
Authorities have not yet released details of the breakout, saying 60 detainees have been recaptured and an investigation is under way. The Secretary of State, Frantz Accents, said authorities had set up several commissions to investigate who arranged the breakout and why. Among those killed was the director of the prison, identified as Paul Joseph Hector.
Residents who refused to identify him because they feared for his life said the inmates had escaped Crocs-des-Buquets punishment before they saw him firing on prison guards on Thursday.
The prison is known for its 2014 breakout in which more than 300 of the 899 inmates escaped. Some believe the attack was designed to free Clifford Brand, the son of a leading businessman who has been in prison since 2012 on charges of kidnapping a rival businessman’s adult children. Brand was arrested two days later near the Dominican Republic border.
After the 2014 breakout, officials said they were taking steps to increase prison security, including installing security cameras and ankle surveillance on the most dangerous inmates. It was not immediately clear whether any of these steps were taken. At the time of Thursday’s breakout, the prison had 1,542 inmates, more than double its capacity.
Haiti’s largest prison breakout in recent history came after the devastating 2010 earthquake, in which more than 4,200 inmates in Port-au-Prince escaped the infamous national penalty.
Haiti’s president, Jovenal Moiz, tweeted on Friday that he condemned the recent jailbreak and called on people to remain calm. He added that Haiti’s national police had been instructed to take “all measures” to bring the situation under control.
Meanwhile, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Haiti, Helen La Lime, said in a statement that she was deeply concerned about the uprising and her escape from prison.
“I urge the police to expedite the investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident, redouble efforts to re-arrest the fugitives and strengthen security around prisons across the country,” he said.
“This prison break further highlights the problem of long-term preventive detention and prison congestion which is a matter of concern that should be urgently addressed by Haitian authorities.”
