The Daily - Why Haiti Asked for an Intervention

This episode contains descriptions of distressing scenes. Haiti is unraveling. Gangs control much of the capital, thousands have been displaced and hundreds more are dead. In recent weeks, the government has taken the extraordinary step of asking for an armed intervention from abroad. What is it like on the ground, and what does the request mean for Haitians? Guest: Natalie Kitroeff, the bureau chief for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean for The New York Times.

Duration: 35m
Broadcast on: 08 Dec 2022
Audio Format: other

This episode contains descriptions of distressing scenes.

Haiti is unraveling. Gangs control much of the capital, thousands have been displaced and hundreds more are dead.

In recent weeks, the government has taken the extraordinary step of asking for an armed intervention from abroad.

What is it like on the ground, and what does the request mean for Haitians?

Guest: Natalie Kitroeff, the bureau chief for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean for The New York Times.

Background reading:

With unchecked gang violence rocking its capital and a cholera outbreak spreading, Haiti’s government has called for an international armed intervention to stabilize the country.
Fearing a mass exodus, some Biden administration officials have pressed for a multinational force, but they don’t want to send U.S. troops and haven’t been able to persuade other countries to take the lead.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This podcast is supported by TikTok. Sometimes the most interesting discoveries are the ones you weren't looking for. That happens every day on TikTok. A science experiment can spark a whole new interest. A recipe you stumble upon can become a meal you make for the people you love. And a restaurant you've never heard of might become your new favorite spot. That's the thing about TikTok. Follow your curiosity and see where it leads. Your next discovery is waiting on TikTok. From the New York Times, I'm Sabrina Tavernisi and this is The Daily. The small island nation of Haiti is unraveling. Gangs control much of the capital. Thousands of Haitians have been displaced. Hundreds more are dead. In recent weeks, the government took the extraordinary step of asking for armed intervention from abroad. My colleague Natalie Kitroff went to Haiti to bear witness. Today, I talked to her about what she saw there and what the government's request might mean for the people of Haiti.

It's Thursday, December 8th. So Natalie, last time we talked about Haiti on the show, the president had been assassinated and there was this question of who had done it and who would fill the power vacuum that had been left in the wake of that assassination. So catch me up, what's been happening in Haiti since then? So first of all, the crime of the assassination remains unsolved. We really don't know who did it, but there is this huge power vacuum that's left behind when the former president was killed and Intuit steps these increasingly dominant gangs that start taking over more and more territory. They get more and more powerful. And recently, this gang activity, this violence has really plunged the country into the depths of a dire humanitarian crisis. And that's what I went to Haiti to see. A few weeks ago, I flew in to Haiti, to the Capitol, Port of Prince. Where are we at in the outer edge now? And right next to the airport, there's this huge public park. It's called Hugo Chavez Plaza. It's just the open air, refugee. You can't move them.

Transcription truncated.