Security officers in Haiti have urgently asked for help after gangs stormed the country’s main prison facility to release local convicts and jailed Colombian soldiers.
Police officers speaking from the scene stated that they were overwhelmed and it was a matter of hours before the gangs gained access to the prison.
Reports indicate that the prison under siege is overcrowded and holds some of the most notorious gang leaders in the country.
Additionally, the penitentiary holds 18 former Colombian soldiers who are accused of assassinating former Haitian President Jovenel Moise.
“Let us mobilise the army and the police to prevent the bandits from breaking into the prison,” a Union representing Haitian police begged.
Protests have turned deadlier in the past week after embattled Prime Minister Ariel Henry travelled to Kenya to meet President William Ruto.
During the meeting, the two leaders signed instruments to allow the deployment of 1,000 Kenyan soldiers to the troubled Caribbean nation.
A former elite police officer, Jimmy Cherizier, popularly known as Barbecue has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
He has vowed to abduct Haiti’s police chief and Henry’s cabinet as well as prevent the Prime Minister from going back to his country.
Before attacking the prison, the gangs had already taken over the nation’s main airport.
It is not immediately clear how Kenyan police officers will land in the Caribbean nation considering it is under the control of Barbecue’s men.
Already, the United States has halted all forms of travel of its citizens to Haiti.
