Tipping Point Quick Hits (03.21.24)

Anarchy Descends on Haiti

A spiraling crisis in Haiti has left its capital city of Port-au-Prince reeling. A mass prison breakout resulted in the escape of at least 4,500 inmates and prominent gang members, and rampaging gangs have left bodies lying in the street. Judges and civic leaders have been attacked. Hospitals are closed. Gangs control the roads in and out of the city. Airports are shut down. Food and water are running low. Power substations have been destroyed. Piles of trash are burning on the street. An estimated 360,000 people have been displaced.

The executive director of the aid organization UNICEF compared the lawlessness to the events in the disturbingly violent post-apocalyptic film Mad Max.

Haiti, a country marked by extreme poverty always on the brink of crisis, is collapsing. What’s happening?