Jake Johnston on the crisis in Haiti and Biden-Harris Haiti policy before the Moïse assassination

Jake Johnston on the political violence and scandals in Haiti: "Think of it like the rapid-fire succession of Donald Trump’s outrages — but with death squads." (Haitians Don’t Need Another President Chosen Behind Closed Doors The American Prospect 07/19/2021)

Haiti is unlikely to be perceived as any kind of crisis for the US. But who knows? During the Reagan-Bush Administration, tiny Grenada because for a few days a critical battleground for the preservation of the Free World. At least if you accepted that administration's preposterous claims.

Johnston writes about Haiti for the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), which often provides important reporting and analysis on Latin American affairs, where the same column also appears. It provides addition information about US action in connection with the crisis of the moment, as well as the background over the last decade.

In a 2017 survey, only 18.5 percent of Haitians expressed trust in elections, the lowest rate in the hemisphere. It’s hard to believe that number has gone anywhere but down since. When [the non-assassinated Jovenel] Moïse was elected president that year, he did so with the votes of 590,000 in a country of 11 million. The U.S., U.N., and OAS recognized his victory, but it’s unclear if the population ever really did. When February 7, 2021, came, and many in Haiti argued that the president’s term had expired, Moïse pointed to the opinions of those same foreign entities, all of which backed his effort to remain in power. Without a functioning constitutional court in Haiti, there was no legal body to definitively rule on the matter. But rather than convening a dialogue to forge a broad political agreement, the support of international actors allowed Moïse to continue on as if nothing had changed.

For more than a year, Haitian civil society organizations have been coming together, discussing and debating a more responsible path forward. After the assassination, the U.S., U.N., and the OAS have insisted on the holding of elections later this year. But instead of another deeply flawed election under a political system that garners little trust, these civil society groups have instead advocated for a transitional government that could oversee needed reforms, restore some semblance of faith in government, and oversee truly free and fair elections at a time when those are actually possible. [my emphasis]

In a piece just before the assassination of the President Jovenel Moïse, Johnston was writing that Biden Continues Trump’s Policy in Haiti Despite Bipartisan Congressional Pushback CEPR 07/06/2021:

Last week, a prominent anticorruption activist, journalist, and emerging political leader, Antoinette Duclaire was brutally assassinated in Port-au-Prince. Killed alongside her was fellow journalist Diego Charles. Duclaire was shot seven times in the front seat of her vehicle, including once in her left temple. Duclaire had previously warned that she was facing death threats, and, In February, her house was shot up by unidentified gunmen.

Sadly, this shocking assassination is but the latest tragedy in Haiti. There have been more than a dozen massacres since the fall of 2018, when youth organizations launched a nationwide anticorruption movement. In 2020, the US sanctioned a former Haitian police officer and alleged death squad leader, Jimmy Cherizier, and two other government officials for their involvement in the 2018 La Saline massacre, in which some 71 people were killed. In just the last week, at least 60 people have been killed in the escalating violence.

Johnston read US policy as continuing the Trump-Pence Administration's support of Moïse rule, who since January 2020 had been governing "by decree without any checks or balances." He wrote that "even under Biden, the United States has continued to side with Moïse as he brazenly attempts to change the constitution to greatly expand executive powers and immunity for himself and other elected politicians." And he wrote:

Former president Donald Trump, whose administration provided steadfast support to the current Haitian president, notoriously referred to the nation as a “shithole” after a campaign stop in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood. During his own campaign, Biden stated that “The Trump Administration is abandoning the Haitian people while the country’s political crisis is paralyzing that nation.” Yet, under the Biden administration, there has been no sign of significant change in policy toward Haiti. Though the Biden administration did grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Haitian migrants this spring, in its first few months in office, the new administration deported more Haitians than the Trump administration did in the entirely of fiscal year 2020. Unfortunately, this has all occurred largely outside the spotlight of the international media. [my emphasis]