'Devastated wasteland': Haitian security forces regain control of stadium from gangs

Haitian security forces say they have regained control of the country's main stadium, wresting it back from the gangs that have been using it for the past two years. The Haitian National Police said they were assisted by the task force, a private security group serving the government, in that the stadium was now under the guard of Salvadoran soldiers. El Salvador's president ordered around 2,000 soldiers to Haiti to rescue four soldiers Missing after an ambush in Port-au-Prince earlier this month, the missing men are part of the gang suppression force, a multinational group backed by the U.N. Well, to discuss this further, we can welcome our senior reporter, Catherine Norris-Trent. So it's great to have you on set with us. Now, Catherine, of course, you've reported fairly extensively from and about Haiti. So how big of an advance is this, this taking back the national stadium? Hi, Catherine. Well, I just got back from another trip to Haiti as this. Salvadoran deployment was beginning and things have moved really fast, especially in the last couple of weeks. So we've seen some very impressive social media footage and Salvadoran troops in helicopters on the ground and now setting up what they say is an operational base in this stadium in the lower part of Port-au-Prince, which for the last couple of years has been a devastated wasteland where most people have fled. Some people have still been living But they've been armed groups and basically police. in armored vehicles firing at people they suspect of belonging to those armed groups you because when we filmed our two thousand and four documentary there much. scene of devastation where we really saw in just a short time frame how run down and unsecure the center the downtown area of Port-au-Prince had become and I think it really sums up the challenges there of the security environment. So I want to take you back to 2024 and just show you the scene as it was then in the spring of 2024 when this was still kind of under the control of gangs in that area The country but it's Haiti That's it. Most of the people who lived here have long since fled. It's on the feed. A handful of residents, like Sanson, remain refusing to give up their homes to gangs and looters. Look at my country. Look at the capital of my country, Haiti. They're worried about the armoured police vehicle at the end of the street. This man hoped to cross through the neighborhood to be able to sell some bread, but now he's stuck. I am very happy to be able to speak with you today. Tuleju. And you see the fencing on the side of that shot, that's the side of the stadium. So that's exactly the zone we're talking about now, so that if it has been retaken by the police, by these various military forces, including the Salvadorans, you know, that's a pretty significant change. It's got to be hard for a lot of people to understand what it would be like living through that now. Speaking of that, the El Salvadoran president has sent troops to Haiti to assist. Do we have any ideas of what their operational guidelines are? There's a legal framework for this. This is such a great question because this is very, very unclear. This was a rapid deployment of more than 2,000 soldiers from El Salvador. Initially, it was said that they were going to rescue four Salvadoran soldiers who'd been kidnapped, perhaps killed, in what seemed to be an ambush. in gang territory but it's rapidly the scope of the mission has rapidly expanded from there so going into zones here they're attacking the headquarters of a gang member we've got troops and helicopters and now in the downtown Port-au-Prince area so there are big questions about what is the legal framework here um this is not part of the UN force we believe how are they cooperating with the UN force how are they cooperating with the Haitian police and there's There's also private military firms. I like the one. Currently being run by Eric Prince, who's using explosive drones in gang-controlled neighbourhoods. So there are a multitude of armed actors. Apart from the multitude of armed groups. And so, you know, we do know already there's been some issues with communication and coordination, which the Americans have referred to. So there are some tensions there already. It's a big escalation in violence, a big escalation in the numbers and the types of weapons being used. And of course, that leads to fears about the civilian population who are risk being caught in the crossfire, really, in some of these densely packed slums where the gangs are hiding out. And Catherine, speaking of the civilian population, how are Haitians reacting to these rapid changes? Well, you've seen videos on social media of people applauding, notably the Salvadoran troops, as they go through these gang-controlled neighborhoods, because people are so desperate and so frustrated after all these years of violence. They really want to see some solution. There are very, very high expectations right now riding on this. People want to see a The end of the violence, the corruption, everything that's led Haiti to get into this situation, their expectations are riding very high. But at the same time, I think we've got to be wary about a kind of communications battle going on here as well. Some very slick footage being posted on social media. The Salvadoran president, Nayib Bukele, taking a lot of personal credit for it. The situation in Haiti is extremely complex and extremely difficult. And some people are really worried about what. could happen to the many, many people who live in these poor neighbourhoods, whether they're going to be caught in the crossfire, used as perhaps potentially a human shield by the gangs. There's some witness accounts saying that the gangs aren't letting them leave, they're building barricades. This could get very, very difficult indeed, more difficult than it is already, and it's very, very complex fighting in such an urban environment. And so this could be quite complex, despite all these slick social media videos and photos we've been seeing coming out. Catherine, thank you so much for continuing to report on what's happening in Haiti and bringing it to our viewers. That's Catherine Norris-Trent, our senior.