Insecurity: Haiti, a Country Overrun by Gangs, a Free-Falling Economy, and a Bankrupt State

Haiti, once nicknamed The Pearl of the Antilles, is now led by incompetents, or rather, 'talented slaves,' trapped in an infernal spiral where insecurity dominates daily life. In 2025, the Haitian economy is on its knees, strangled by gang violence, institutional paralysis, and the inability of leaders to impose a semblance of order. While the people are on the brink and businesses close, the government is mired in inaction and absurd decisions, leaving the country suffocated, sinking into total chaos.  While gangs rule over 90% of the capital, inflation explodes, and the population struggles for survival, the State sinks into inaction. As recently as Saturday, March 1, the police launched an operation in Bas Delmas against one of the country's most feared gang leaders. Several individuals were killed, but this response changes nothing in the daily life of a country where violence has become the sole authority.  Economy in Total Asphyxiation, Commerce Paralyzed The latest report on the resilience of the Haitian banking system, published in February 2025, highlights the extent of the economic collapse. Real GDP has declined by an average of -0.4% per year over the last decade, with six consecutive years of contraction between 2019 and 2024. This means that the Haitian economy has been in recession for over six years, a dramatic record reflecting the impact of political and security instability. Meanwhile, basic commodity prices are skyrocketing. Inflation, which had already reached record highs in 2024, exceeds 40% in 2025, making food and essential services inaccessible to a large part of the population. Banks, which had long resisted crises, are now in difficulty. The report indicates that the real net profits of the banking system have fallen for three consecutive years (2022-2024), and credit to businesses is sharply down, as financial institutions prefer to invest in safer assets abroad rather than lend in an uncontrollable country.  A Business Climate in a State of Clinical Death Investing in Haiti in 2025 is economic suicide. Industrial zones are operating at a crawl, local businesses are extorted, and entrepreneurs are fleeing the country. Who can still believe in a viable future when even customs are under the control of criminals? Importers must pay ransoms to retrieve their goods, leading to soaring prices and a scarcity of products on the market. Foreign investors, who still hoped for a recovery, have definitively turned their backs on Haiti. The private sector, which once represented 90% of the financial system's total assets, is seeing its economic weight decline. In this deleterious climate, the rare businesses that remain active must pay double taxation: that of the corrupt state and that of armed gangs. The result? Cascade closures, an explosion of unemployment, and an increasingly informal economy, controlled by mafia networks.  Abandoned Agriculture: Famine on the Horizon The agricultural sector, which could have been an engine for economic recovery,  is on the verge of extinction. Farmers can no longer access their land due to armed conflicts in rural areas. The rare harvests are controlled by armed groups who demand ransoms to allow crops to pass and are sold at exorbitant prices, making local products inaccessible to the most deprived. Food insecurity is reaching alarming levels, yet no concrete response is provided by the State. According to the report, bank credit to productive sectors, including agriculture, has been in free fall for five years, as banks avoid overly risky investments. In short: farmers no longer have the means to produce, and Haiti is condemned to import ever more food at prices the population cannot afford. The Ministry of Agriculture? Silent. Agricultural recovery policies? Non-existent. Haiti, a country once self-sufficient in food, is now totally dependent on imports, even as foreign currency becomes increasingly scarce and the gourde continues to plunge into the abyss.  Investors Flee, the State Begs Faced with this chaotic situation, Haitian banks are reorienting their investments. The report shows that the rate of resource transformation into credit has been continuously declining for five years, as financial institutions prefer to secure their funds by placing them in less risky assets, particularly abroad. Who would want to put a dollar into a country where the State no longer even controls its own capital?  Meanwhile, our leaders travel through chanceries, hand outstretched, hoping for a miracle from the Virgin Mary, as during Leslie Voltaire's visit to the Vatican. They beg for international aid that they know neither how to manage nor how to use effectively. Development projects? Blocked by insecurity. Funds for infrastructure? Disappeared into the pockets of corruption. Haiti's image on the international stage is catastrophic, not only because of gangs but especially due to the chronic incompetence of those who are supposed to lead the country: puppets in power devoid of moral and ethical sense.  A Youth Without a Future, a Nation in Decomposition Young people, who should be the engine of economic recovery, are held hostage by this rotten system. Between forced exile for those who have the means and enlistment in gangs for those who have no other options, the brain drain is reaching a critical level, further exacerbating the economic crisis.  According to the report on the resilience of the financial sector, persistent economic contraction and insecurity have a direct impact on investments in education. Schools are closing one after another, the lack of qualified personnel is worsening, and access to quality training is becoming a luxury. Social networks are replacing classrooms: learning happens on TikTok and YouTube, free time multiplies due to a lack of regular classes, and the rare refresher programs struggle to compensate for lost years. Without education, training, and prospects, Haitian youth are condemned to a dead-end future, which irremediably compromises any economic recovery. Meanwhile, our leaders continue to pretend, speaking of 'dialogues,' 'commissions,' 'Council of Ministers' and 'resolutions' that lead to nothing. The truth is that the Haitian State has abandoned its population. Leaving a country in the hands of criminals is a crime in itself, consented to by those clinging to powerless positions.  Between empty promises and widespread corruption, they passively witness the country's economic demise.  Can Haiti Still Recover? History has shown us that the Haitian people are resilient, but for how long? Security is the foundation of any prosperous economy. Without it, there is no commerce, no investment, no growth. As long as the State does not take its responsibilities, as long as those in power continue to bury their heads in the sand, Haiti can only sink further. It is time to demand accountability. The time for empty speeches is over; concrete actions are needed. Haitians deserve better than a country held hostage by bandits seeking revolution without even understanding the word, who destroy their fellow citizens, with complicit politicians often described as 'talented little slaves' or powerless politicians mired in the vicious cycle of inefficiency. The country's future will not be built on promises, but on a real will to regain control and restore order. Haiti is not condemned to failure. But it still needs leaders capable of standing up and saying: enough is enough!