At least 11 inmates were killed in the tumult of a prison break on Friday in Haiti's coastal city of Saint-Marc, officials said.
"The situation is under control, but the results are catastrophic," State prosecutor Venson Francois told Reuters. "All the cops' dormitories have burned down. The archives have burned down. They've set everything on fire except their cells."
A local government official said the turmoil was a spontaneous protest reflecting inmates' frustration with the prison's living conditions that he said include a lack of food and appalling health conditions.
The Miami Herald reported that businesses in Saint-Marc — about 88 kilometers (55 miles) northwest of the capital, Port-au-Prince — have been asking for police reinforcements for several days, citing a growing gang violence problem.
Le Nouvelliste, the local newspaper, reported that prison officials were on strike to demand better working conditions at the time of the prison break. The newspaper account said government commissioner Vension Francois feared the prison’s guards might have mutinied, but no details were provided.
Police in Saint-Marc issued a notice informing the public of the prison break. The notice also requested that the public report to police any suspicious people who could possibly be escaped prisoners.
Unverified videos of the prison break posted on social media showed people scaling walls amid fire, smoke and a loud explosion. Gunfire was also heard near the prison.
It was not immediately clear how many prisoners escaped. It was also not known whether the breakout was the result of a gang raid, a lapse in internal security or another reason, officials said.
Haiti is in the grip of gang violence in its cities, despite the deployment of at least 400 Kenyan police officers who have been designated to lead a multinational security mission to combat the gangs. Armed gangs have not been deterred in their lawlessness by the Kenyans and have continued their upheaval.
Human rights advocate Marie Yolene Gilles, who closely monitors Haiti's prisoners, told the Herald that she was not surprised by the breakout.
“Once one prison falls, others fall; it’s like a domino effect,” she said. The prison held about 500 inmates, she said, as of July.
Friday’s prison break was the third in recent months. In March, gangs raided two of the country’s largest prisons — the National Penitentiary and the Croix-des-Bouquets. More than 4,000 prisoners escaped in the raids, including inmates indicted in the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
