In the span of a month, Eliantes Jean Jacques has lost two family members to the ceaseless violence in Haiti.
In early February, gangs killed his brother. Two weeks ago, they murdered his cousin.
“There is no justice in Haiti,” said Jean Jacques, tearing up.
After the deaths of Jean Jacques’ relatives, the situation in his homeland has grown worsened. Since Friday, armed gangs have attacked the main airport, broken out hundreds of inmates from its largest prisons, killed police officers and declared their intention to overthrow Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who was out of the country on a diplomatic mission. Organized gangs now control most of the capital. About 15,000 people have been displaced in the most recent wave of violence, according to the United Nations.
And South Florida, the beating heart of the Haitian community in the United States, is hurting.
Jean Jacques, who hails from the coastal city of Port-Au-Paix and is living in Miami, is desperate to bring his brother’s children to the United States. But in recent days, he’s been unable to locate them.
“I don’t know where they are,” he said.
Florida is home to more than 276,000 people born in Haiti. Hundreds of thousands of others in the state have roots on the island nation. On Tuesday, several Haitians and Haitian-Americans in Miami told the Miami Herald that they want Henry — a widely unpopular and unelected leader who rose to power after the 2021…
