Nearly 150 killed in Haiti's recent gang warfare (May 23, 2022)

Nearly 150 people have been killed and scores wounded during gunfights between warring gangs in Haiti in recent weeks. Médecins Sans Frontières said that it had treated more than 96 people with gunshot wounds in its medical facilities in Port-au-Prince since 24 April. (Guardian)

The United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet, says armed violence has reached “unimaginable and intolerable levels” in Haiti and that the surge in violence is being fuelled by heavily armed gangs in Port-au-Prince. (United Nations)

The UN said that between April 24 and May 16, at least 92 people unaffiliated with gangs, and some 96 alleged gang members, were reportedly killed during coordinated armed attacks in the sprawling Haitian capital. Another 113 were injured, 12 reported missing, and 49 kidnapped for ransom, according to figures corroborated by UN human rights officers, although the actual number of those killed may be much higher.

The security situation has direct impact on the country's political crisis, notes the Latin America Risk Report: "Even accepting some level of electoral weakness if Haiti holds elections this year, elections under the current levels of gang violence and influence would not be accepted by much of Haitian society. Solving the security situation must be a priority."

Last week, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry resumed negotiations with the opposition coalition, the “Montana Accord," which favors the creation of a transition government to bridge the gap between the Henry government and a government to eventually be democratically elected. Negotiations between the Haitian government and the group had been on hold since February 14, reports the Latin America Risk Report.

Decolonization and Reparations

• Persistent corruption is one reason for Haiti's apparently perpetual crisis. But a history of crippling reparations and later extractivist policies by French financial institutions are critical to understanding Haiti's current woes. For generations after independence, Haitians were forced to pay the descendants of their former slave masters,  the world’s first and only country to do so. Loans from French banks were used to finance these payments, what became known as Haiti’s “double debt” — the ransom and the loan to pay it — a stunning load that boosted the fledgling Parisian international banking system and helped cement Haiti’s path into poverty and underdevelopment, reports the New York Times, in a report that builds on existing academic research and original historical records.
  
  
• A New York Times investigation into historical records uncovers how Parisian bank Crédit Industriel et Commercial, which in 1880 set up Haiti's national bank, choked Haiti’s economy, taking much of the young nation’s income back to Paris and impairing its ability to start schools, hospitals and the other building blocks of an independent country. Crédit Industriel, known in France as C.I.C., is now a $355 billion subsidiary of one of Europe’s largest financial conglomerates.
  
  
• The historical tie between debt and gunboat diplomacy is ugly, rooted in imperialist and racist encounters with western powers. Few examples better illustrate the point than Haiti, according to a Clauses & Controversies podcast featuring Laurent Dubois, a leading historian of Haitian colonial history.
  
  
• And the history continues to have significant repercussions: French diplomats admit that Jean-Bertrand Aristide's sudden calls for reparations in 2003, a bombshell that became a hallmark of his presidency, played a role in his eventual ouster in a coup supported by France and the U.S., reports the New York Times.
  
  
• A group of U.S. Democratic lawmakers, including the House majority leader proposed a binding plebiscite to decide whether Puerto Rico should become a state or gain some sort of independence. The draft proposal would commit Congress to accepting Puerto Rico into the United States if voters on the island approve it. But even if the plan were to pass the Democratic-led House, the proposal appears to have little chance in the Senate, where Republicans have long opposed statehood, reports the Associated Press.
  

Diplomacy

• The U.S. Biden administration announced a partial lifting of sanctions on Cuba last week. Changes will include restoring flights to Cuban cities other than Havana and reestablishing a family reunification program suspended for years. The changes also include relaxing the ban on remittances. The new policies follow the recommendations of a long-anticipated review of U.S. policy toward Cuba, launched after a Cuban government crackdown on widespread street protests on the island last summer. (See May 17's Latin America Daily Briefing.)
  
  
• The U.S. Biden administration has several reasons for its newly announced (marginal) shifts towards moderation in its policies towards Cuba and Venezuela -- including concerns over migration and oil shortages related to conflict with Russia. But officials could also be aiming to counteract the threat of a regional boycott of the upcoming Summit of the Americas, motivated by its stance towards these countries. (Latin America Brief)
• U.S. President Joe Biden’s new Cuba measures "appear driven by the confluence of the migration crisis and Latin America’s rebellion over U.S. Cuba policies," writes William LeoGrande in World Politics Review. In fact, the growing chorus of regional dissent regarding the U.S. decision to likely exclude Cuba from the Summit of the Americas is nothing new. "Obama’s 2014 decision to normalize relations was heavily influenced by the public scolding he received from Latin American heads of state at the Sixth Summit of the Americas in 2012. Even close U.S. allies warned that unless Cuba was invited to the 2015 summit, they would not attend." 
• U.S. officials accused Cuba of creating controversy about its possible exclusion from the US-hosted Summit of the Americas next month to portray Washington as the “bad guy” and distract attention from Havana’s human rights record at home. Kerri Hannan, deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs, said countries that have threatened to skip the regional meeting if Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua are not invited should attend or else they would lose an opportunity to engage with the United States, reports Al Jazeera. (See last week's Just Caribbean Updates)
• Guyana will be attending the Summit to discuss high-priority matters, President Dr. Irfaan Ali has said. “There are a number of issues that we have to discuss as a region including climate change, energy security and food security and we want to be part of those conversations.
  

Climate Justice and Energy

• The increase in Atlantic tropical cyclone activity since the 1980s can be robustly ascribed to variations in atmospheric circulation as well as sea surface temperature increase, according to a new study in Weather and Climate Dynamics.
  
  
• Expected accumulated damages from tropical cyclones could increase by up to 5% in 2030 and 150% in 2100 relative to 2020, due to increased cyclone intensity as a result of climate change, according to a Climate Analytics study. For some islands, a mix of adaptation measures, including grey infrastructure, nature-based solutions, improved infrastructure, and risk insurance, have the potential to avert economic damages from tropical cyclones.
  
  
• Guyana's Shadow Oil and Gas Minister, David Patterson said an amended motion, seeking full spill insurance coverage by oil giant ExxonMobil will be resubmitted to the House this week. It is an opportunity to reverse the mistakes made regarding oil spill insurance, said the former head of Guyana's environmental authority, Dr. Vincent Adams. (Kaieteur News)
  
  
• For the period April 28, 2020 to January 27, 2022, Guyana received US$81 million in royalty payments, scraped from the two percent deal it signed with ExxonMobil in 2016. However, Kaieteur News reports that between 2019 and 2020 alone, Guyana granted US$657 million in tax exemptions to Exxon.
  

Children's Rights

• A recent Trinidad and Tobago government task-force report  documented widespread abuse in state-run and funded residential children's homes. The Judith Jones Task Force report detailed everything from drug transactions to rape of minors, writes Flora Thomas in Global Voices.

Public Security

• Cuban lawmakers approved a new penal code last week. Some rights groups have criticized the reform, arguing its clause on foreign funding could be used to stifle dissent and independent journalism. The government said the new code is in line with the country's new constitution approved by referendum in 2019, as well as international treaties. (Reuters)

LGBTQ Equality

• Haitian human rights group Héritage pour la Protection des Droits Humains has issued a statement condemning a tweet by a high-profile lawyer detailing a false and defamatory story about a group of homosexuals being caught having sex in a national historical site that went viral last month. This incident is the latest in a string of recent social media attacks on the queer community in the French-speaking Caribbean, after incidents in Martinique and Guadeloupe last month, reports Erasing 76 Crimes.
  
  
• Director of Empowering Queers using Artistic Learning (EQUAL) Anil Persaud has issued a call for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community to play a more meaningful and tangible role in Guyana's development. (Alturi) 
  

Migration

• A UK deportation flight to Jamaica took off last week with seven people onboard. Home Office deportation flights to Jamaica are among the most contentious carried out by the department, reports the Guardian, as many of those earmarked for removal have Windrush connections or have been in the UK since childhood, with children and other close relatives in the country.
  
  
• Engaging Migrants in Guyana is a guide for government and humanitarian organisations wishing to better include migrant voices in decision making. Through presenting eight tips and numerous recommendations, it is hoped that migrants can play a greater role in leading initiatives that seek to benefit their own communities. (Voices GY)
  

Culture

• Diana McCaulay (Jamaica) and Cecil Browne (United Kingdom/St. Vincent and the Grenadines) were selected as winners of the 2022 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for their respective regions. (Repeating Islands)
  

Events

• 25 May -- How do we get governments to commit to climate adaptation? -- Caribbean Climate Network. Register. 
  
  
• 26 May -- Still Standing: Notes from the Ti Kai Project, Dominica -- Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, University of London. Register.
  
  
• 30 May -- The critical decade for climate: unpacking the IPCC Working Group reports -- Constrain. Register.

We welcome comments and critiques on the Just Caribbean Updates. You can see the Updates on our website, as well as receive it directly through the mailing list. Thank you for reading.

We aim for the JCU to be an informational tool, as well as a space for connection between Caribbean experts, policy-makers, activists and organizations. If you would like to post an event or opportunity on the JCU, we invite you to send the information to justcaribbeanupdates@gmail.com. Please put in the following format: date -- title of event -- organizer -- registration link OR title of opportunity -- institution -- link to more information. 

Caricom pushes for inclusive Summit of the Americas (May 14, 2022)

Caribbean countries form part of a growing group of countries annoyed at the U.S. organization of the upcoming Summit of the Americas, to be held in Los Angeles in June. Caribbean Community (Caricom) leaders have discussed a collective boycott of the summit if nations are excluded and criticized the U.S. plan to invite Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó. Caricom leaders cited "disrespect [of] the Democratic Charter" by part of the US after not inviting Venezuela, Cuba, or Nicaragua to the meetings. (Associated Press, Associated Press, Ultimas Noticias)

Cuba, particularly, is a flashpoint for governments nettled by U.S. gatekeeping: "CARICOM countries take the view that the Summit of the Americas is not a United States summit, which it isn’t. It is a summit of all the countries of the Americas, of which the United States is only one," Ambassador Ronald Sanders of Antigua and Barbuda told the Washington Post. “Does hosting the summit give you the right to decide who should or should not be representing countries of the Americas? ... Many have come to the conclusion that ... everybody should be there. That must include Cuba.”

Some countries in the region that condemn nondemocratic regimes in Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba still feel the Summit of the Americas invite-list kerfuffle is "yet another reminder of what they see as U.S. hubris when it comes to the hemisphere," reports the Washington Post.

The growing chorus of discontent in Latin America and the Caribbean over the upcoming Summit of the Americas to be held in the U.S. -- the invites still haven't been sent out -- underscores the challenges facing the U.S. Biden administration in advancing its interests in the region, reports the New York Times. 

In an April conference Sanders said that when it comes to how the United States treats its Caribbean neighbors, U.S. President Joe Biden’s policies aren’t that much better than those of his predecessor, Donald Trump. Biden, he said, “inherited Trump’s virulent anti‑Cuba posture, and an equally hostile attitude to Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela.” The decision to recognize Juan Guaidó, then-president of the National Assembly—rather than Maduro—as Venezuela’s head of state, said Sanders, “has continued to haunt US‑Caribbean relations, and will be a significant issue as we approach the upcoming Summit of the Americas.” (Antigua Newsroom)

Diplomacy

• While the U.S. Biden administration recently announced that it is resuming “limited” consular functions at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, it still appears unlikely to restart the normalization process with Cuba. The Biden administration has placed electoral politics ahead of U.S. interests and appears unlikely to do more, write Fulton Armstrong and Philip Brenner at the AULA blog.
  
  
• Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said he prevented “dangerous things” from happening during the time President Donald Trump was in office, including military intervention in Venezuela and a blockade of Cuba. “At various times, certainly during the last year of the administration, folks in the White House were proposing to take military action against Venezuela," Esper said in an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes. At some point, he said, “somebody proposed we blockade Cuba.” (Miami Herald)

Climate Justice and Energy

• Global Americans has launched a research project to assess the political, economic, and social consequences of climate change in the Caribbean.

• Guyanese environmentalists say ExxonMobil  indifferent to the dangers of an oil spill off the country's coast, while Guyanese politicians have accused Exxon of fleecing the country of billions of dollars by bouncing an ill-experienced government into a contract that pays far less than other countries earn from their oil, reports the Guardian.
  
  
• A new study published in Science estimates the costs of possible legal claims from oil and gas investors in response to government actions to limit fossil fuels, such as canceling pipelines and denying drilling permits. The study’s findings show ISDS claims could reach $340 billion, a substantial amount that would divert critical public finance from essential mitigation and adaptation efforts to the pockets of fossil fuel industry investors.
  
  
• Adjuntas, a community of about 18,000 in central Puerto Rico’s densely forested mountains, has become a showcase for how solar power could address one of the island’s most vexing problems — an energy grid that has struggled to recover after Hurricane María practically wiped it out in 2017, reports the New York Times.
  
  
• Vanuatu’s push for the international court of justice to protect vulnerable nations from climate change has received the backing of 1,500 civil society organisations from more than 130 countries, as it heads toward a crucial vote at the UN General Assembly later this year, reports the Guardian.
  

Public Security

• Haitian gang members raped women and girls and burned people alive during turf wars over the past coupe of weeks near Port-au-Prince, the Haitian National Human Rights Defense Network said in a report detailing the bloody conflict between the rival Chen Mechan and 400 Mawozo gangs. The battles left 148 people dead, some of whom were hacked to death with machetes or died when their homes were set on fire. (Reuters)

Food Security

• Several Caribbean leaders -- including Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley and Guyanese Prime Minister Irfaan Ali -- have referenced the urgent need to reduce the regional Food Import Bill. (Carib Direct)
  
  
• "Rather than launching large-scale but short-term projects where international intermediaries absorb a major portion of the funds, the Haitian rural world needs small-scale investments that are sustained over a long time span with encouragement for local markets, school canteens and small-scale tourism outfits," argues Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis in Americas Quarterly.
  
  
• Cassava could be part of the solution to the grain supply challenges aggravated by the Ukraine war, argues Chiedozie Egesi in the Guardian.
  
  
• Melissa Fuster’s Caribeños at the Table, demonstrates that a global shift towards Americanized food has shaped the food practices of Caribeños, not just upon migration, but also before they arrive. Fuster disrupts the discourse of migrants’ “universal longing for traditional foods” by arguing that dietary practices are significantly influenced not just by culture; but more importantly, by intersectional structural factors such as class, race, and gender, both in their homeland and their new home. (Nacla)
  

Decolonization and Racial Justice

• Following the arrest of British Virgin Islands’ Premier Andrew Fahie on drug charges, the UK, which already controls the islands’ defense and foreign policies, is considering taking over the country’s domestic policy and budgets as well, reports The Guardian.

• CARICOM, and the University of the West Indies have called on Britain to retreat from stated political calls to subvert and subordinate the sovereignty of the people of the Virgin Islands.

Drug Rights

• St. Vincent and the Grenadines' first cannabis consumption lounge opened last week -- people can obtain permits to buy cannabis products for a year after an onsite consultation with a physician. (Nation News)
  

Culture

• Anguilla's education officials updated the country's school code to permit students to wear natural protective hairstyles like dreadlocks, braids and cornrows, reports Loop News. Education Minister Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers said the change aims to move past "engrained colonial perspectives," part of a broader Caribbean debate. 
  
  
• "Splintered," written and directed by Emily Aboud, is a primer on the life of queer women in the Caribbean, reports the Guardian -- complete with the hypothesis that the homophobia embedded in their culture is founded in the legacy of colonialism.

Events

• 21 May -- CEDAW Speaker Series: Esther Eghobamien-Mshelia -- Equality Bahamas. Register.
  
  
• 25 May -- "Centering Justice in Global Climate Finance Governance on the Road to COP27" -- Climate Justice - Just Transition Donor Collaborative. Register.

We welcome comments and critiques on the Just Caribbean Updates. You can see the Updates on our website, as well as receive it directly through the mailing list. Thank you for reading.