Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 21 août 2024

Haitian officials refuse to attend Abinader’s inauguration amid airspace dispute, stoking diplomatic tensions

Haitian officials denounce Dominican airspace restrictions calling for equal treatment for all citizens

by Jose FlécherAug. 15, 2024

THE HAITIAN TIMES

Haitian authorities will not attend Dominican President Luís Abinader's inauguration due to ongoing airspace restrictions imposed by the Dominican Republic on Haiti. This decision comes amid long-standing diplomatic tensions between the neighboring countries that have once again come to the forefront.

PORT-AU-PRINCE — The Haitian government has announced it will not attend the inauguration of Dominican President Luís Abinader on Aug. 16 in response to the Dominican Republic’s recent measures to unilaterally close the airspace between the two nations. This move is the latest in a series of actions that add to the ongoing strain in the historically troubled relationship between the two neighboring countries, contributing to a complex diplomatic situation.

“The prime minister and the president of the Transitional Presidential Council (CPT) will not participate in the inauguration ceremony of the Dominican president,” Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dominique Dupuy confirmed to The Haïtian Times in a telephone conversation. She did not make any further comment about the government’s decision.

Dupuy’s chief of staff, Winnie Hugo Gabriel, said Thursday that the Haitian consul in the Dominican Republic, Christine Lamothe, will attend the ceremony instead.

The latest measures by the Dominican Republic have resurfaced, directly impacting the participation of Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille and members of the CPT at the inauguration of Abinader, who was elected for a second term. Closed for security reasons since late February, the Dominican authorities have refused to lift restrictions on flights from Haiti. This stance has significantly influenced the Haitian government’s decision to decline the DR government’s invitation. The resulting backlash exacerbated an already strained relationship and fueled further the long-standing diplomatic tensions between the two countries.

Dominican Chancellor Roberto Alvarez has refuted claims of the airspace closure between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, asserting in a recent tweet that Haitian airspace remains open for officials and humanitarian flights but that it remains closed to commercial flights for security reasons.

 “ I added that for security reasons, the airspace between #RepDom and #Haiti remains closed for commercial flights but not for official, humanitarian, or similar flights. In addition, I asked our ambassador to Haiti to visit the Haitian Foreign Ministry and reiterate this,” Alvarez said on his  X account. “There is no overflight obstacle whatsoever that impedes the Haitian authorities from attending President Abinader’s inauguration. It would have been a unique opportunity to start the dialogue with the transitional government.”

A source close to the CPT President Edgard Leblanc, who requested anonymity, also confirmed to The Haitian Times that the refusal to attend Abinader’s inauguration is linked with the ongoing closure of the airspace between the two countries.

“The prime minister and the president of the presidential transitional council will not participate in the inauguration ceremony of the Dominican president.” Dominique Dupuy, Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs. 

The decision has caused discontent on the other side of the island. Dominican officials, including Foreign Minister Alvarez, have made several attempts to clarify the situation by referencing a conversation he had with Minister Dupuy, suggesting that the issue might be more complex than it appears on the surface. 

“On August 1, during a phone conversation with the Haitian Chancellor, she inquired whether it was necessary to lift the airspace closure so they could attend President Abinader’s inauguration. I assured her that any flight request from Haitian authorities would be immediately authorized, just like those of other invited dignitaries,” the Dominican Chancellor shared on his X account.

However, the Dominican authorities are holding firm on their decision to keep the airspace closed, offering instead to open a specific air corridor for official flights. This would allow Haitian dignitaries to attend President Abinader’s inauguration, a move seen as a diplomatic snub in Haiti. 

The position has sparked significant backlash, with Foreign Minister Dupuy emphasizing that any request for reopening must apply to all citizens without exception. She asserted that Haitian authorities should not benefit from privileges that are not extended to the Haitian people.

This diplomatic impasse follows heightened tensions triggered by the construction of a canal on the Haïtian side of the Massacre River, which led to Dominican President Abinader taking different measures to force Haïtians to suspend work, including the closure of the Dominican borders in September last year. Air travel to and from Haiti was forced to be suspended due to the escalation of gang violence in Port-au-Prince on February 29. While other countries resumed services, the Dominican Republic maintained the airspace restriction. 

Haitians on social media reacted positively to Minister Dupuy’s stance applauding her for finally showing that the Haitian government is taking a firm position against the Dominican authorities. Legal experts have also weighed on the issue analyzing the broader implications of the Haïtian government’s response to the Dominican Republic action.

“The government’s decision is an exemplary demonstration of the sovereignty of the Haitian State under international law because, by refusing to subordinate the reopening of the airspace, it relies on Article 2 of the United Nations Charter, which recognizes the principle of equal sovereignty of states,” said a former Croix-des-Bouquets substitute for the government commissioner who requested anonymity.

Reacting to Dupuy’s comment that authorities should not benefit from privileges not extended to the Haitian people, the former government substitute said that by taking this stance, Haitian authorities are rejecting a privilege denied to the broader population. He referenced Article 1.2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which, he emphasized, prohibits discrimination in the enjoyment of rights and freedoms.

Teachers familiar with the history of both countries have pointed out that this moment could set a precedent for how Haiti navigates its relationship with its neighbor moving forward.

“The refusal to go is a step. But I expect much more from the country’s authorities,” says Gérard Duclos, a history teacher at several schools in the Haitian capital. He further criticizes the situation, noting that while the airspace is closed, Dominican army helicopters continue to fly between the Dominican Republic and the Dominican embassy in Port-au-Prince without any control.

“The authorities at the highest level of the State must address this anomaly with urgency,” he concludes.

Twenty-four hours before the inaugural ceremony, the Haitian government has not officially confirmed whether the Charge d’Affaires in the Dominican Republic will attend the event.

THE HAITIAN TIMES

Carl Fombrun left us

Carl Fombrun left us, at the ripe age of 92, today 8/13/2024.

A great soul, a generous heart, a consumate relationist and conversationalist who has stories after stories to share with friends, his public and the world. Haitian politics, the Kennedys, MLK, life in Cuba, Brazil or the USA…

It was a privilege to have known him both as a guest (Kendall, FL) and as a host (Norwood, MA). What a memorable trip with him in Woonsocket, Rhode Island to visit his former Catholic High School, Mount St. Charles, 60 years later in 2011.

As we process the loss, he sure would insist that we remember him in a celebratory mode, with joy, fine wine, and good memories. We will try Carl, we will try. With respect and affection...

Evangéline and Charlot Lucien

Haiti’s Future Depends on Our Unity: A Call to Action for the Haitian Diaspora

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In the face of ongoing challenges, one truth becomes increasingly clear: Haiti’s path to renewal lies in the hands of its people, both at home and abroad. As members of the Haitian diaspora, we carry within us the resilience, creativity, and passion that have defined our nation since its revolutionary birth. Today, more than ever, it is imperative that we overcome our divisions and unite in purpose to foster a brighter future for Haiti.

Haiti’s history is a testament to the extraordinary things we can achieve when united. On August 14th, 1791, our ancestors overcame the barriers of language, tribalism, and religion to create a path for unity towards a common cause. They shattered the chains of slavery and colonialism, creating the world’s first black republic. This legacy of strength and determination flows in our veins, waiting to be channeled towards Haiti’s renaissance.

However, division has too often held us back. Political disagreements, regional, social and class differences, and conflicting visions have fragmented our efforts, diluting our potential impact. Many inside and abroad have used our internal fights for their selfish interests against our nation. It is time for all of us who have been standing on the sidelines to get involved. Haiti will not change without the involvement of all of us. But we need to be smart.

Only Haitians Can Truly Solve Haiti’s Challenges

While international aid and support have their place, the lasting solutions to Haiti’s challenges must come from Haitians themselves. We understand the nuances of our culture, the complexities of our society, and the depth of our potential in ways no outside entity ever could.

Our diaspora, spread across the globe, represents an incredible reservoir of talent, expertise, and resources. We have doctors, engineers, educators, entrepreneurs, and artists who have achieved success in various fields. Imagine the transformation we could foster if we pooled this collective knowledge and experience towards Haiti’s development.

The Urgent Need for an International Diaspora Network

The time has come for us to build a robust, international network of Haitian professionals, faith-based leaders, educators, and social activists. This network would serve as a platform for:

1. Defining a vision for Haiti as a land of freedom for all in the world
2. Knowledge sharing and collaboration
3. Coordinated investment in Haiti’s infrastructure and economy
4. Mentorship programs connecting diaspora experts with Haitian youth
5. Advocacy for policies that support Haiti’s development
6. Preservation and promotion of Haitian culture globally

Let’s acknowledge that many networks already exist. We can create an overall umbrella for all those networks on a common platform that we will need to define around peace, security, and education for all.

Finding Common Ground

To build this network, we must find common ground. Despite our differences, we all share a love for Haiti and a desire to see it thrive. Let this be the foundation upon which we build our unity.

We must engage in open, respectful dialogue on the deeper reasons for our division: respect for all Haitians, from the city and the countryside, respect for all skin colors, respect for all social classes. We need to learn how to see other Haitians, removing the sequels of colonial history that make us judge all other Haitians. Our fundamental problem is how we see each other. We are the only ones who can understand and overcome our differences.

One of the first common goals is the restoration of Haitian History as the beacon for liberty and equity in this modern world. We must elevate what Haitians have done for the new world and understand that all ideas of human rights, liberty, and equity pass through Haiti. Haiti is the first inequity outcome in the world. Many major nations of today have taken advantage of Haiti: France, Spain, England, Germany, USA, to cite the obvious ones.

We can also find common ground on education: connect Haiti with the most advanced education systems in the world through access to technology, curriculum development, and practical learning for all, from the countryside to the cities, from the mountains to the valleys. Finding a common platform for education transcends our differences. We have proven to the world how smart Haitians can be. Let’s find common ground to have a revolution of education in Haiti for all.

We can find common ground for community engagement, peace for all, and the like. No country can overcome its differences without a common vision. Rwanda is our most pressing example.

A Call to Action

To my fellow Haitian professionals, faith leaders, educators, and activists: the time for action is now. Haiti needs our unity, our expertise, and our unwavering commitment. We salute all who have been in this fight for their entire lives. The time has come today to self-examine and re-engage, following the wisdom of many countries that have surmounted numerous obstacles. Let’s agree on a vision: “An nou tounen lakay 2050” (Let’s return home by 2050).

The evidence is clear: “The neighbor never comes to clean home for you”. We must be the ones doing this work. We must learn to see Haitians with a new look, a look of pride, a look of love, a look of togetherness. We must understand that we are not individually responsible for our internal fights and our differences. Our social fabric of distrust and survival instinct from slavery have conditioned us for individualism and not for collective action. We must reinvent a social fabric of trust, without which no progress is possible.

The challenges facing Haiti are significant, but they are not insurmountable. By uniting the strengths of our diaspora, we can create a powerful force for positive change. Our diversity, when harmonized, becomes our greatest asset.

Let us honor the legacy of our ancestors by coming together, transcending our differences, and working tirelessly for Haiti’s renaissance. The future of our beloved nation depends on our unity. Together, we can restore Haiti as a beacon of freedom, creativity, and prosperity in the world.

The time is now. Let us unite for Haiti. Please join us on August 24th for a special dialogue on organizing the Haitian Diaspora. Follow this link: Rekonekte pou Haiti

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 25 juin 2024

Kenyan police force to leave for UN-backed Haiti mission on Tuesday

23/06/2024 - 18:28

Kenya offered to send about 1,000 police to stabilise Haiti alongside personnel from several other countries, but the deployment has run into legal challenges in the East African nation.

President William Ruto has been an enthusiastic backer of the mission and said this month that the deployment would begin within weeks.

"The departure is this week on Tuesday," an interior ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

"Preparations are set for the team to depart for Haiti on Tuesday. We already have two advance teams that left -- one last week and another one yesterday," a senior police official said.

A UN Security Council resolution in October approved the mission but a Kenyan court in January delayed the deployment.

It said the Kenyan government had no authority to send police officers abroad without a prior agreement.

The government secured that agreement on March 1 but a small opposition party in Kenya has filed a fresh lawsuit to try to block it. 

Aside from Kenya, other countries that have expressed willingness to join the mission include Benin, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados and Chad.

The United States is providing funding and logistical support, but not boots on the ground in Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas.

Global monitor Human Rights Watch has raised concerns about the mission and doubts over its funding.

Rights groups have accused Kenyan police of using excessive force and carrying out unlawful killings.

On Friday, a police watchdog said it was investigating allegations that a 29-year-old man was shot by officers in Nairobi after youth-led demonstrations against proposed tax hikes.

Haiti has long been rocked by gang violence but conditions sharply worsened at the end of February when armed groups launched coordinated attacks in the capital Port-au-Prince, saying they wanted to overthrow then prime minister Ariel Henry.

Henry announced in early March that he would step down and hand over executive power to a transitional council, which named Garry Conille as the country's interim prime minister on May 29.

The violence in Port-au-Prince has affected food security and humanitarian aidaccess, with much of the city in the hands of gangs accused of abuses including murder, rape, looting and kidnappings.

(AFP)

National Center of Haitian Apostolate

REFLECTIONS FOR THE TWELFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B June 23, 2024

Job 38, 1 + 8-11; Psalm 197; 2 Corinthians 5, 14-17; Mark 4, 35-41

This Sunday the Lord invites us to move from fear to confidence. Job implores God in his sufferings. God answers from the heart of the storm (Job 38: 1,8-11) “Look at my power and trust me, even when you do not understand." 

Paul, in turn, reminds the Corinthians that Jesus died for all men while bearing the weight of their evil; we must no longer remain focused on ourselves but on him who died and rose again for us. In the Gospel, the disciples are afraid of dying because of the storm. But Jesus rebukes the threatening wind and commands the stormy sea to quiet down. At once, the wind ceased and calm was restored. 

Like Job or the disciples of Jesus, people of our time feel very insecure, because of so many reasons: like wars, violence, natural disasters, economic and moral crises, etc. More than ever the cry of suffering is relevant: men, women, and children are painfully affected by illness, poverty, and famine. Many live in fear and no longer have the strength to cry out to the Lord. It seems to them, that things and life move too fast. Some even see the Church as sometimes uneasy and fearful. It seems as, if God is too far away; like a God who sleeps, and remains indifferent to our fears and anxieties. 

"Where are you, Lord, when we suffer?" "Why do you sleep, Lord, when your Church suffers?" "Why is there so much evil in the world?" These are often the cries of our human condition when we feel threatened by misfortune, suffering, and evil. 

We are reassured today by Jesus’s reaction and attitude in this Gospel. First, instead of answering the questions of his disciples, he calmed down the tempest with a word of his mouth. Second, he turned the table and started questioning his disciples: "Why are you so afraid?" Where is your faith?" Finally, he reaffirmed his presence in the boat with them. "I am with you. Believe in me, trust me." 

Faith does not eliminate the storm, no matter how strong it is. Faith changes us. Faith allows us to see and to know that Jesus is, not only, with us, but also within us. Moreover, in the middle of the storm, he is our peace. We are not wrong for being afraid. To be afraid is normal, and it is to be expected, but there is a solution. 

The word of God teaches us today that Jesus is in the boat with us. It reminds us at the same time that the real storm, the more threatening storm is always the one that rages within us, in our hearts. The work of Jesus is not only to rescue the sailors of Galilee crossing to the other side of the lake. It is fundamentally to save us, all of us, to save the world. 

The mighty deeds of Christ have been clearly displayed! Jesus is shown as endowed with divine power. The Apostles, witnesses of the event were filled with awe. Are we? Yes, He is Lord! May we live with the full assurance that he is truly the Lord, whose power and mercy are boundless! Let us call on him to calm down the furious winds of terror and violence, of hatred and despair that threaten our very existence. Let us incessantly call on him to calm away our fears and anxieties in the face of the world’s uncertainties and threats. He calls us to repent and become a new creation. Why should we arrogantly stand in defiance of the One whom the winds and the seas obey? 

Let us humbly express our confidence that, with the Lord, we can overcome all trials and all evil.

Undocumented spouses, children of US citizens can stay while applying for permanent residence, Biden announces

BY THE HAITIAN TIMES JUN. 19, 2024

The Haitian Times

President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that the Department of Homeland Security will allow certain noncitizen spouses and children to apply for lawful permanent residence without leaving the country. 

The new process aims to ensure U.S. citizens with noncitizen spouses and children can keep their families together while awaiting immigration status adjustments and strengthen the economy, according to the White House.

“President Biden believes that securing the border is essential,” the White House states in a fact sheet. “He also believes in expanding lawful pathways and keeping families together, and that immigrants who have been in the United States for decades, paying taxes and contributing to their communities, are part of the social fabric of our country.”

To be eligible for this opportunity,  an undocumented spouse must have lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years and be legally married to a U.S. citizen as of June 17, 2024. On average, those eligible have lived in the U.S. for 23 years, according to the White House.

Approved applicants will be granted a three-year period to apply for permanent residency, during which they can remain in the U.S. with their families and receive work authorization. It’s estimated this policy will protect around 500,000 spouses of U.S. citizens and approximately 50,000 noncitizen children under 21 whose parents are married to U.S. citizens. 

It’s currently unclear how many Haitians in the U.S. will be affected by this policy.

Biden also announced measures to ease the visa process for U.S. college graduates, including DACA recipients and other Dreamers. This initiative aims to help young people who have earned degrees at accredited U.S. institutions and have received job offers in fields related to their degrees obtain work visas more quickly.

The administration is facilitating the employment visa process for college graduates with high-skilled job offers, including DACA recipients and other Dreamers, allowing them to contribute more effectively to the country’s economy.

“Recognizing that it is in our national interest to ensure that individuals who are educated in the U.S. are able to use their skills and education to benefit our country, the Administration is taking action to facilitate the employment visa process for those who have graduated from college and have a high-skilled job offer, including DACA recipients and other Dreamers,” the White House said.

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 20 avril 2023

 Leaked Pentagon Docs Show Russia's Brutal Wagner Mercenaries Have Ambitions in Haiti

03.08.23

Vice - The leaked Pentagon documents that have become an intelligence nightmare for the U.S. government after circulating in, among other places, a Minecraft forum also shed light on the growing global ambitions of the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary outfit working hand in hand with the Kremlin.

Led by an apparently villainous chef, Yevgeny Prigozhin—a catering and business oligarch closely allied to President Vladimir Putin—Wagner has emerged from the war in Ukraine as one of the most talked about features of the Russian offensive for its brutality. Prigozhin’s troops, composed of convicts and other volunteers linked to war crimes, have been key to the siege of Bakhmut—a meat-grinding battle in Donbas between mostly Wagner fighters and Ukrainian forces. Though at least under partial control of the Kremlin, Wagner has acted as a semi-autonomous military force inside Ukraine and around the world, which allows for the export of Putin’s most cynical geopolitical ambitions while giving him the veneer of plausible deniability. 

But the leaked top-secret Department of Defense documents, some potentially tampered with but the veracity of which has led to a DOJ criminal investigation, have provided a portrait of some of Wagner’s global ambitions. Among them a desire to send Russian mercenary troops some 800 miles south of Florida to the embattled country of Haiti, which has faced a litany of security issues since its president was assassinated by Colombian mercenaries in a 2021 coup.

“As of late February, Wagner associates planned to discreetly travel to Haiti to assess the potential for contracts with the Haitian Government to fight against local gangs, according to law enforcement reporting,” reads one of the photographed slides in the cache of documents reviewed by VICE News. 

Russian military and intelligence assets attempting to gain a foothold in the Americas to threaten U.S. regional ambitions is a tale about as old as time. Whether positioning nuclear missiles in Cuba in 1962 or arming various Communist-backed paramilitaries in Latin America, the Soviet Union often looked to flex its security powers near the American mainland. In recent years, Nicaragua has allowed Russian troops to train in its territory, in what many saw as more of Putin using a Soviet-era provocation to taunt the Biden administration during its struggles in Ukraine.

But if Wagner was even capable of sending mercenaries so close to the U.S. it would represent an escalation of tensions between the Kremlin and Washington, almost certainly necessitating an American reaction if Wagner were actually successful in deploying to Haiti. It’s important to remember that while the Russian mercenary company has gained global name recognition for its efforts in Ukraine and Africa, it isn’t an endlessly financed or manned organization and is facing increased pressures from inside Russia. Prigozhin’s mercenary company has sustained crippling losses and over 30,000 casualties, while fighting Ukrainian forces.

An American intelligence source with knowledge of Russian intelligence capabilities, who wasn’t authorized to speak to the media, told VICE News that in the event Wagner Group were even able to send mercenaries to Haiti it would match up to its other operations, “all over West Africa and Latin America.” 

“They’ll work for anyone and offer dictators coup security,” they said, referring to vulnerable national leaders who might employ the Russian mercenaries as private security details and a loyal military force. 

“They gravitate towards regions of political instability with the stated purpose of providing security. Haiti fits that bill,” they said, adding that Wagner “can be cowboys in Syria” but it would also be a surprising development for the Russian mercenaries to boldly send troops so near the U.S.

The Pentagon has said that it is investigating the leaked documents and acknowledged the damage it has already done. 

“We're not going to get into the validity of the purported documents posted online, but a Pentagon team continues to review and assess the veracity of the photographed documents that are circulating on social media sites and that appear in some cases to contain sensitive and highly-classified material,” said a Pentagon spokesperson in a Monday briefing. “We're still investigating how this happened, as well as the scope of the issue.”

The CIA declined to comment on the leaks to VICE News. In the past, the agency has publicly acknowledged it is covertly attempting to disrupt the Russian mercenary group’s activities in Africa and elsewhere.

The documents, if entirely real, offer several other startling looks inside alleged Wagner schemes. According to one top secret report in the same cache, U.S. intelligence found that Wagner was working with people inside another NATO partner and member state, to secure new weapons.

“Russian private military company Wagner personnel in early February met with Turkish contacts to purchase weapons and equipment from Turkey for Wagner’s efforts in Mali and Ukraine, according to a signals intelligence report,” the alleged leaked intelligence said. “Additionally, Malian Transition President Golta had confirmed that Mali could acquire weapons from Turkey on Wagner’s behalf.” 

The Turkish government did not respond to VICE News regarding the allegation that entities within the country were in contact with Wagner.

The same series of slides also showed how Wagner is willing to utilize its West Africa-based mercenary forces, including what the leaked documents say is 1,645 of their contractors in Mali, to destabilize neighboring Cote d’Ivoire—a country that France is eyeing as a security partner.

Colin Clarke, an analyst on the mercenary group and the director of research at intelligence consultancy firm the Soufan Group, says the leaks, if accurate, show just how determined Wagner is to continue pursuing business around the world even in the midst of what would be considered horrendous PR—and that there are interested buyers.

“The leaked documents shed some interesting light on Wagner and demonstrate that Wagner is even more aspirational than most people were aware of,” Clarke told VICE News. “I don't think Wagner's brand has been damaged in the way I would've guessed a year ago.”

Clarke explained that clearly Wagner is filling a need around the world, for regimes less interested in human rights and more on results. 

“Wagner is willing to do the dirty work and that's something that's still in demand,” he said, “especially in countries where the rule of law is weak and human rights are considered an afterthought, if mentioned at all.”

Russian mercenaries allegedly operating in Haiti “under the nose” of the United States

DOMINICAN TODAY

Recently leaked Pentagon documents have exposed the presence of a Russian mercenary group operating in Haiti, undetected by the United States. This Wagner Group made headlines in 2022 when its members allegedly killed a defector by beating him with a sledgehammer and offered assistance to the Haitian government in tackling violent gangs. According to the Daily Mail, the Wagner Group has already established itself in at least a dozen African countries and has links with Turkey and Syria.

The leaked documents indicate that the original source of the leak is hard to track down as thousands of US government officials have access to the classified material. The founder of the group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is a close associate of Russian President Putin and admitted in September that he founded, led, and funded the group. The leaked documents claim that Prigozhin recruited an army of 22,000 Russian ex-convicts from the Bakhmut area. Prigozhin has a checkered past, with a 12-year prison sentence for robbery and assault charges in 1981. He later gained notoriety for his catering business, winning lucrative Russian government contracts, and earned the nickname “Putin’s chef.”

He expanded into other areas such as media and even a “troll factory,” which led to his indictment in the US for interfering in the 2016 presidential election. Wagner Group made its first appearance in eastern Ukraine, supporting a separatist insurgency, followed by Syria, Libya, the Central African Republic, and Mali. Prigozhin reportedly used these deployments to secure mining contracts for his businesses.

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 4 avril 2023

 Randall Robinson, founder of influential Africa lobby, dies at 81

The founding executive director of TransAfrica was for years the foremost U.S. activist representing Africans and the African diaspora

Emily Langer

Randall Robinson, who as founding executive director of TransAfrica, a high-profile lobbying organization in Washington, helped reshape U.S. foreign policy toward apartheid-era South Africa and once conducted a 27-day hunger strike to bring attention to the suffering of Haitian refugees, died March 24 in St. Kitts, the island in the West Indies. He was 81.

His wife, Hazel Ross-Robinson, said he died in a hospital of aspiration pneumonia.

Mr. Robinson grew up in what he described as the “domestic apartheid system” of the Jim Crow South, recalling that he had not a single White classmate until he was accepted at Harvard Law School.

He participated in the civil rights movement and, in the years that followed, sought to carry on its ideals as perhaps the foremost U.S. activist representing Africans and the African diaspora.

Mr. Robinson led TransAfrica, which also included a scholarly and educational affiliate known as TransAfrica Forum, from its incorporation in 1977 until he stepped down as executive director in 2001. TransAfrica ceased operations in 2014.

A member of Congress, he recalled, once remarked to him that before TransAfrica was founded, “there weren’t more than a few people on the Hill who could name more than three African countries.” Under Mr. Robinson’s leadership, TransAfrica became “black America’s premier foreign-policy think tank,” Washington Post columnist William Raspberry wrote in 1993.

TransAfrica had the backing of Black celebrities including singer Harry Belafonte, tennis player Arthur Ashe, actors Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, comedians Bill Cosby and Dick Gregory, and boxer Muhammad Ali.

The organization — and Mr. Robinson in particular — was widely credited with forcing the United States to confront the apartheid regime in South Africa and push for the release of South African activists including Nelson Mandela, who was imprisoned for 27 years under apartheid.

“If I had to identify one person” in the United States “responsible for ending apartheid, it would be Randall,” then-U.S. Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) told the Boston Globe.

In November 1984, Mr. Robinson was arrested, along with Del. Walter E. Fauntroy and Mary Frances Berry of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, when they staged a sit-in at the South African Embassy in Washington.

Mr. Robinson went on to lead daily demonstrations outside the embassy that led to thousands of arrests, including those of Ashe, singer Stevie Wonder, feminist leader Gloria Steinem and Sen. Lowell P. Weicker Jr., the liberal Republican from Connecticut. Mr. Robinson was detained a total of seven times.

President Ronald Reagan had advocated a conciliatory policy of “constructive engagement” with South Africa. But in September 1986, amid growing outrage among Americans over the brutality of apartheid, Congress voted to override Reagan’s veto of legislation that placed economic sanctions on South Africa.

Mandela was released in 1990 and, four years later, was elected South Africa’s first Black president. Mr. Robinson was unable to attend the inauguration, because he had only days earlier ended a nearly month-long hunger strike to draw attention to another plight: that of thousands of refugees fleeing the military junta that had ousted the democratically elected Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

“Lives were at stake,” Mr. Robinson told the Dallas Morning News at the time. “Where life is at stake, one ought to be prepared to do anything to save a life. … If there are not some principles you have that are worth dying for, then your life is not worth living.”

Mr. Robinson took only water and fruit juice during his protest, which attracted national attention. At one point he was hospitalized for severe dehydration. He ended his hunger strike after President Bill Clinton agreed to grant would-be refugees asylum hearings rather than interdicting them at sea and returning them immediately to their violence-wracked country.

Clinton said that his administration had begun reviewing its position on Haitian refugees before Mr. Robinson undertook his protest. But the president had also remarked during the fast that “I understand and respect what he’s doing. … We need to change our policy.”

Randall Maurice Robinson was born in Richmond on July 6, 1941. His father was a high school history teacher and athletic coach, and his mother, a former elementary school teacher, was a homemaker and volunteer.

His earliest memories included the indignities inflicted on people of color because of segregation — the separate drinking fountains and bathrooms, the department store clerk who forced his mother to wear a skullcap before she tried on a hat. He recalled delivering groceries at age 14 to a White family and feeling invisible as they spoke among themselves about intimate details of their life, without any sense of his presence.

“When one gets on a bus and has to sit in the back — even a 2-year-old child understands,” he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 1987. “Life is always a mixed blessing of pain and pleasure, but there was too much pain and no justification.”

Haiti assassination: how much did the US government know about the plot against Moïse?

The alleged involvement of three US government informants in the operation that culminated in the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse has raised questions about how much Washington knew about the plan partially hatched in Miami. Does the FBI have a conflict of interest if it is investigating a case involving one of its informants? (Leer en español)

Univision

US Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen speaks during a press conference in Miami on February 14, 2023 to announce the arrest of four suspects and the indictment of 11 people accused of conspiring to assassinate the president of Haiti, Jovenel Moise. Among those named as "planners" were Arcangel Pretel and Antonio Intriago, owners of a security firm, CTU Federal Academy.

In April 2021, the owners of a small South Florida security company met to discuss acquiring weapons and military equipment as part of a plan to remove Haiti’s President, Jovenel Moise.

Over the course of several meetings, the security company claimed to have ties to the FBI and the Justice Department and suggested that the United States government backed its plan to remove Moise.

At least one such meeting was attended by FBI agents who claimed that the security firm "attempted to draw FBI personnel ... into a discussion about regime change in Haiti."

U.S. officials confirmed last month in court documents that the meetings took place, but denied that anyone in the government “sanctioned” the plot to remove Moise, which resulted in his murder three months later.

Left unaddressed, however, were questions about what the FBI agents learned about the plot and whether they tried to stop it, or if they warned anyone in more senior ranks of government, or the U.S. intelligence services.

Miami area security company hired the alleged Colombian assassins

According to court documents, the Colombians were hired by CTU Federal Academy in Miami, the same firm that hosted the meetings with the FBI agents in Doral, Florida a few weeks earlier.

Several of the alleged conspirators, including the owners of CTU Federal Academy, Antonio Intriago and Arcangel Pretel, were arrested last month and accused in federal court with conspiracy to murder Moise. They face life sentences if found guilty.

At the time of the meetings in Doral, Pretel was also an active FBI informant, according to court documents, including an affidavit by one of the FBI agents investigating the plot. Pretel, a Colombian citizen who moved to Miami in 2015, was “deactivated” after the assassination, court documents revealed.

Two other jailed men accused in the plot, a Haitian-American former policemen, Joseph Vincent, and a convicted former drug trafficker, Rodolph Jaar, were also former DEA informants, though they were not active at the time of Moise’s murder, according to court documents.

The Colombians feel duped by CTU

A lawyer for the Colombian soldiers told Univision that the former Colombian soldiers acted under the belief that the plot was sanctioned by the U.S. government and were tricked by CTU.

"They were absolutely convinced that they were working for part of the U.S. government; I don't know if it was the FBI or the CIA or the DEA," said attorney Sondra McCollins, who represents several of the detained men. "They were told that they had to detain a very important person and that the 22 (Colombians) had to accompany them," she added.

The soldiers were recruited in Miami by CTU Federal Academy and flew to Haiti on tickets purchased by the company. Intriago traveled from Miami to meet with them and they received regular briefings by Pretel via Zoom.

The soldiers flew to Haiti on tickets purchased by CTU Federal Academy. Intriago traveled from Miami to meet with them and they received regular briefings by Pretel via Zoom, according to two sources who spoke to Univision.

How the plot evolved into an assassination

CTU's initial plan was to aid regime change, not assassination, according to court documents. But something changed between April and July. The night before the operation, all participants were informed that the mission was to kill the president, according to federal prosecutors in Miami.

On the night of the assassination, one of the men in the convoy that arrived at Moise's residence shouted through a megaphone that it was "a DEA operation," something the U.S. government has strongly denied.

"So they arrive at the house ... and they don't know how to get in ... and one of them leans on the gate and it opens. They don't even have to break anything down," McCollins said.

Three of the assailants found Moise and his wife in their bedroom. Their two children hid the bathroom with the family dog. Moise was shot 12 times and killed instantly; his wife was wounded but survived.

Supposedly, the plan was to install a new government and the Colombians were to be integrated as the new president's security team. But within hours all the Colombians were arrested, and the other conspirators - some Haitian politicians and a Supreme Court magistrate among them - disappeared.

As details of the judicial proceedings in Miami and Haiti emerge, disturbing questions have arisen about the role the U.S. played before, during and after the attack.

McCollins contends that most of the detainees thought that Pretel, who was identified by the prosecution as one of the masterminds of the operation, was an official U.S. government liaison.

"We were convinced that we were doing, that we were supporting legal work for the FBI and the State Department," Juan Carlos Yepes told Univision Noticias in a video sent from prison in Haiti.

In the Zoom meetings, Pretel dressed as a military officer and let people around him believe he was a former colonel in the military. It is unclear whether he ever served in the Colombian military. Univision could not find any record of his service.

According to the Colombian civil registry, the 50-year-old businessman was born in Cali. According to some of the relatives of the Colombian ex-soldiers detained in Haiti, Pretel worked closely with the military in Cali in the 1990s during the hunt for the leaders of the Cali drug cartel.

Pretel circulated photos of him in front of U.S. government offices. Univision obtained one photo of Pretel in front of an official-looking wall with the logos of several branches of the US military, including the Army, the Marine Corps, the US Navy and the Air Force.

It turns out that the wall is located in a public area of Miami International Airport, known as the ‘Wall of Honor’ memorial, listing the names of South Florida military men and women who died serving in the global war on terrorism.

Pretel, in fact, was no stranger to the U.S. government. In the FBI agent's affidavit, Pretel is describes as a "confidential source." But, the FBI alleges, the Colombian leader of the operation "may have tried to use" his prior relationship with the U.S. government to suggest to others that CTU was affiliated with the FBI or the Justice Department.

This was false, according to the government. The agent added that Pretel "did not disclose to the FBI" the plot to assassinate Moise.

What did the FBI know, and when?

But many questions remain.

For more than a year the FBI declined to comment on rumors about Pretel’s relationship with the agency, even after lawyers for CTU issued a press release described the April meetings with agents.

The FBI now admits that agents were present at a meeting in which the alleged conspirators discussed a plan in CTU's office to make political changes in Haiti. According to court documents, the FBI agents know that they should not meddle in the affairs of other countries.

According to court documents, the FBI agents told the security firm that they couldn't help. "An FBI agent told the men, in substance, that the FBI could not help them because Haiti had to solve its own problems," the affidavit stated.

What is not known is how much concern this type of meeting caused the agency. In court documents the FBI now admits that agents were present at a meeting in which the alleged conspirators discussed regime change in Haiti.

The FBI clarified that Pretel had been an informant "on matters unrelated" to Haiti. He is believed to have collaborated as an unidentified informant in a case in Colombia related to weapons destined for the FARC guerrillas, according to Colombian media.

What is not known is how much concern this type of meeting caused the agency.

US law and the 'Duty to Warn'

Under U.S. law, it is a crime to conspire “to kill, kidnap, maim, or injure persons” and damage property in a foreign country. Following numerous futile attempts by the CIA in the 1960s to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro, “no person employed by or acting on behalf of the United States Government shall engage in, or conspire to engage in, assassination.”

U.S. officials also have a ‘Duty to Warn' if they come across information of a plot to kill or otherwise harm a foreign head of state. It is not known in this case if that happened.

The FBI declined to comment on the case. The State Department did not immediately respond to a written request for comment on what it knew about the plot.

The Colombian former soldiers are also left wondering if they might have avoided being led into a trap if the FBI had intervened in time to halt the plot. Three of the Colombians died in the aftermath of the assault.

"Now we learn that FBI agents claim to have been deceived by that American security company. If they were fooled, what makes them think that we weren't fooled," Yepes said in the video sent to Univision.

International arrest warrant against Patrick Noramé

March 28, 2023

An international arrest warrant was issued on Monday against the former DG Office for the Monetization of Development Aid Programs, Patrick Noramé.

He is being prosecuted for corruption, money laundering, financing of terrorism, and embezzlement of public funds.

Twenty other personalities linked to the investigation conducted under the management of Mr. Noramé at the head of the BMPAD are also subject to measures prohibiting departure.