Haiti is back in the news due to a fuel shortage caused by a blockade led by Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier, who leads the G9 coalition of organized crime groups in the nation. They are demanding the resignation of Ariel Henry, who came to power and seems determined to hold on after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July. Political turmoil is nothing new for Haiti, occupied by the US from 1915-1934 and suffered through the brutal dictatorship of Francis “Papa Doc” Duvalier from 1957-1971. However, recently, Haiti has been in the headlines for yet another catastrophic earthquake, as well as for the images of Haitian migrants being whipped by US border patrol agents on horseback – a profound articulation of US imperialism, wrote Ashely Roach for MIP earlier this month. It is a nation in turmoil, one of the poorest in the world, that is repeatedly struck by devastating natural disasters. Yet Haiti remains a symbol of pride and hope because of its Black radical history.
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