>>> AND NOW TO HAITI, A COUNTRY THE U.S. IS ALSO LOOKING AT.

IT IS TEETERING ON THE BRINK OF COLLAPSE AMID ESCALATING GANG VIOLENCE.

FRANCE HAS EVACUATED SOME 240 PEOPLE FROM THERE, AND MORE THAN 1,500 HAVE BEEN KILLED BY THE VIOLENCE IN HAITI SO FAR THIS YEAR.

THAT IS FROM THE U.N.'S HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICE, ANNOUNCING TODAY.

MEANWHILE, HAITI'S TRANSITIONAL PRESIDENTIAL COUNCIL IS STILL BEING FINALIZED.

IT'S AIMING TO APPOINT A NEW PRIME MINISTER TO, QUOTE, PUT HAITI BACK ON THE PATH OF DEMOCRATIC LEGITIMACY, STABILITY, AND DIGNITY.

WIDLORE MERANCOURT IS A REPORTER AT "THE WASHINGTON POST" AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF THE HAITIAN PUBLICATION.

HE IS JOINING HARI SREENIVASAN FROM PORT-au-PRINCE TO DISCUSS THE DETERIORATING SITUATION THERE.

>> CHRISTIANE, THANKS.

WIDLORE MERANCOURT, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.

YOU HAVE BEEN REPORTING AND LIVING IN HAITI FOR YEARS NOW.

JUST IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS AND MONTHS, DESCRIBE WHAT YOU HAVE SEEN OF YOUR COUNTRY.

>> WELL, HAITI IS LEANING TODAY TOWARDS CRISIS FOR THE PAST DECADES.

THE 29th OF FEBRUARY IN HAITI LAUNCH A SERIES OF ATTACKS AGAINST THE INSTITUTIONS, BUT NOT JUST THE INSTITUTIONS.

THEY ALSO ATTACK PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS, BUSINESSES, AND HOSPITALS.

WE VM ALMOST 50,000 PEOPLE DISPLACED BY THE VIOLENCE.

THIS IS ON TOP OF MORE THAN 300,000 PEOPLE WHO ARE ALREADY DISPLACED BY VIOLENCE IN HAITI.

THEY MENTION CRISIS IS EXTREMELY DIRE.

THE POLITICAL CRISIS ALSO THAT IS ON TOP IS NOT OFFERING ANY RELIEF IN SIGHT.

>> WHAT LED TO THIS MOST RECENT CRISIS?

>> WELL, THIS MOST RECENT CRISIS IS BROUGHT BY A COALITION OF GANGS IN HAITI.

THEY CALL THEMSELVES LIVE TOGETHER, WHICH IS A BEAUTIFUL FRENCH EXPRESSION AS I SAID, IT'S A COALITION OF GANGS LED BY A FORMER POLICE OFFICER.

HIS GOAL STATED AT THE TIME, YOU KNOW, LATE IN FEBRUARY WAS TO TOPPLE THE GOVERNMENT OF ARIEL HENRY.

BUT THIS MARCH HE ANNOUNCED THAT HIS GOVERNMENT IS GOING TO RESIGN.

THE ATTACKS DID NOT STOP.

AND TODAY WE STILL HAVE POLICE OFFICERS BEING KILLED BY THESE GANGS.

AND IN THE COURSE OF THIS COORDINATED ATTACK THAT I MENTIONED BEFORE, TWO OF THE BIGGEST PRISONS IN HAITI HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, LEFT OPEN WITH THOUSANDS OF INMATES, SOME OF THEM -- SOME OF THE WORST CRIMINALS, QUITE FRANKLY, IN THE COUNTRY RELEASED IN THE STREETS.

>> SO IT MAY BE A SIMPLE QUESTION, IT MAY BE A COMPLICATED ONE.

WHO IS IN CHARGE?

>> WELL, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.

HAITIAN PEOPLE ARE ASKING THEMSELVES THIS QUESTION, BECAUSE IN PRACTICAL TERMS, THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT, IS NOWHERE TO BE SEEN IN HAITI.

WE ARE TALKING ABOUT PROBABLY THE WORST HUMANITARIAN CRISIS SINCE THE 2010 EARTHQUAKE, WHICH KILLED MORE THAN 300,000 PEOPLE.

AND TODAY, AS I SAID BEFORE, MORE THAN 350,000 PEOPLE ARE DISPLACED BY THE VIOLENCE.

WE HAVE HUNDREDS OF HOSPITALS, I MEAN SIX IN TEN HOSPITALS ARE TODAY CLOSED.

WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, THE AIRPORT THAT IS CLOSED BY THE GANGS' VIOLENCE.

AND ON TOP OF THAT, YOU ALSO HAVE THE MAIN PORT OF PORT-au-PRINCE SERVICES ATTACKS AT LEAST TWICE BY THE GANGS.

AND WE ARE IN A COUNTRY WHERE THE VAST MAJORITY OF THINGS THAT WE CONSUME IN HAITI COMES FROM ABROAD.

SO WHEN YOU HAVE THE AIRPORT THAT IS CLOSED AND YOU HAVE ALSO DEEP PORTS THAT ARE NOT WORKING PROPERLY, THAT MEANS CRUCIAL GOODS AND CRUCIAL THINGS THAT PEOPLE NEED TO FUNCTION, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT FOOD, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT MEDICAL SUPPLIES, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT MORE THAN 300 CONTAINERS OF HUMANITARIAN SUPPLIES SEIZED BY THE GANGS.

AND THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT REALLY COMMUNICATING ON THIS ISSUE.

>> SO IF YOU CAN'T GET GOODS AND SERVICES, I SHOULD SAY GOODS INTO THE COUNTRY, WHAT'S THE RIPPLE EFFECT THERE?

THAT MEANS A BUSINESS SELLING THAT GOOD HAS TO SHUT ITS DOORS.

THAT MEANS THE EMPLOYEES OF THAT BUSINESS ARE OUT OF WORK.

THAT MEANS THE PEOPLE BUYING FOOD FROM THAT BUSINESS NO LONGER CAN, RIGHT?

>> YES, ABSOLUTELY.

I MEAN, THAT'S -- IT'S ADDING ON A CRISIS THAT ALREADY EXISTED, RIGHT.

WHEN GOODS CANNOT COME IN, YOU HAVE, AS YOU SAID, THE STREET MARKETS, THE SUPERMARKETS, WHICH, YOU KNOW, DON'T HAVE ENOUGH SUPPLIES TO KIND OF PUT THINGS ON THE SHELVES FOR PEOPLE TO BUY.

BUT EVEN BEFORE THAT SITUATION, EVEN WHEN THE PORT WERE FUNCTIONING MORE OR LESS, THE INEQUALITY INSIDE OF HAITI MADE IT SO THAT IT WAS ALREADY EXTREMELY DIFFICULT FOR PEOPLE TO GO AROUND AND BUY FOOD AND FIND FOOD.

SO MANY PEOPLE RELY ON HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE IN HAITI.

AND FOR THE 2024 YEAR, THE NEED FOR HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE IS ABOVE $600 MILLION.

AND ONLY 7% OF THAT IS FUNDED.

WE ARE -- IF YOU TALK TO HUMANITARIAN FOLKS IN HAITI, THEY WILL TELL YOU THAT THEY HAVE A SENSE OF WHAT SOME FOLKS CALL THE HAITI FATIGUE, WHICH MEANS MAYBE BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY CRISES AROUND THE WORLD TODAY, OR MAYBE THE WORLD HAS TURNED ITS BACK TO HAITI, THE LEVEL OF NEEDS THAT THE HAITIAN PEOPLE HAVE, THE DIRE HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IS NOT MET BY ANY HELP.

AND THAT ALSO MEANS ON PRACTICAL TERMS HAITIAN PEOPLE GOING WITHOUT FOOD ABOUT HALF OF THE COUNTRY TODAY IS IN ACUTE HUNGER, ACCORDING TO THE U.N. YOU HAVE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE LIVING IN CAMPS, BEING DISPLACED BY THE GANG VIOLENCE.

YOU HAVE HOSPITALS, AS I SAID, CLOSED DOWN BY THE GANGS VIOLENCE, AND HOW HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF KIDS WITH HUNDREDS OF SCHOOLS BEING CLOSED, THESE KIDS ARE BEING DENIED THE RIGHTS TO HAVE AN EDUCATION.

IN A RANDOM BASIS, TODAY WE SEE BULLETS.

>> TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHO IS FILLING THIS LEADERSHIP VACUUM.

WHO RUNS THE GANGS RIGHT NOW.

WHO IS THE KIND OF DE FACTO HEAD, OR MOST POWERFUL PERSON IN HAITI?

>> SO HISTORICALLY IN HAITI, THE GANGS ARE LINKED TO THE POLITICAL SECTOR, AND ALSO THE BUSINESS SECTOR.

THEY USE THESE YOUNG MEN'S, SOMETIMES FROM EXTREMELY POOR AREAS TO ADVANCE THEIR OWN INTERESTS.

BUT INCREASINGLY IN THE PAST YEARS, WE ARE SEEING THE GANGS BROKE, AND THEY DON'T PARTICULARLY HAVE A CENTRALIZED LEAD WERE A CENTRALIZED SORT OF SETS OF GOALS.

WE HAVE A DISPARATE SORT OF TOXIC SOUP OF DIFFERENT GANGS DOING DIFFERENT THINGS, KIDNAPPING PEOPLE, RANSACKING BUSINESS, EXTORTS PEOPLE, ET CETERA.

BUT THEY ALSO HAVE SOME COMMON INTEREST IS WHY LATE LAST YEAR, JIMMY SHERZE, A POLICE OFFICER ANNOUNCED THIS ALLIANCE, AND HE RESURRECTED THIS ALLIANCE A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO WITH THE STATED GOAL TO ATTACK THE GOVERNMENT.

>> WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT JIMMY?

HE IS NAMED BARBECUE.

>> JIMMY IS A FORMER POLICE OFFICER IN HAITI.

WHICH IS AND INTERESTING FACT.

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT COMPONENTS OF THE SECURITY TODAY IN HAITI IS THE LACK OF FAITH OF THE HAITIAN PEOPLE IN THE FORMAL INSTITUTIONS SET UP TO PROTECT IT, RIGHT.

YOU HAVE POLICE OFFICERS BEING ALSO IMPLICATED IN MASSACRES, IN GANG ACTIVITIES AND SOMETIMES KIDNAPPING.

HE PARTICIPATED AROUND THAT TIME IN MANY MASSACRE, INCLUDING ONE IN LA SELENE.

DOZENS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE WERE KILLED.

THE HAITIAN NATIONAL POLICE WERE TRYING TO INTERVIEW HIM TO UNDERSTAND HIS ROLE IN THESE MASSACRES.

HE LEFT.

HE FLEE.

AND THIS IS AROUND THE TIME HE BECAME THE THUG THAT WE TODAY KNOW HIM FOR.

IN THE AFTERMATH OF THESE EVENTS, HE WAS KIND OF JUST ONE OF THE SEVERAL GANG LEADERS, POWERFUL GANG LEADERS TERRIFYING THE HAITIAN POPULATION HERE IN PORT-au-PRINCE.

BUT HE MAY A SUPPOSITION IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS TO HAVE SOME POLITICAL SPEECH WITH SOME STATED OBJECTIVE THAT WOULD BE TO CONDUCT WHAT THEY CALL A REVOLUTION.

THIS REVOLUTION WOULD BE AGAINST THE CORRUPT POLITICAL CLASS, AND ALSO THE CORRUPT BUSINESS CLASS IN HAITI.

IT'S A BEAUTIFUL SPEECH, BUT JUST LIKE ANY SPEECH, IF YOU MAKE EXTRAORDINARY CLAIMS, YOU NEED EXTRAORDINARY PROOF.

AND THE PROOF TODAY ON THE GROUND IS THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE VICTIMS OF GANG VIOLENCE.

THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE VICTIMS OF THE SHOOTINGS, THE KILLINGS, AND THE RAPES.

THE POOR PEOPLE LIVING IN APARTMENTS.

>> WITHOUT A FUNCTIONING POLICE FORCE, OR AT LEAST ANY VISIBLE POLICE PRESENCE ON THE STREET, AND GANGS ESSENTIALLY CARVING UP DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE COUNTRY, WHAT DOES THAT DO TO -- I DON'T KNOW IF THE WORD IS MORALE, BUT HOW PEOPLE FEEL TODAY CONSIDERING ALL OF THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHALLENGES THAT HAITI HAS FACED FOR SO LONG?

>> WELL, I REGULARLY TALK TO POLICE OFFICERS, RIGHT.

IN THE PAST WEEKS SINCE FEBRUARY, ABOUT 12 POLICE STATIONS WERE EITHER BURNED DOWN BY ATTACKS BY THE GANGS, AND THE ATTACKS CONTINUING.

WHEN I TALK TO POLICE OFFICERS, THEY, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE THE PEOPLE SET UP TO PROTECT THE HAITIAN POPULATION.

AND THEY ARE EXTREMELY DISCOURAGED.

THEY THINK LIKE THE LEADERSHIP OF THE POLICE IS INEFFECTIVE, AND THEY ARE TO DEFEND THEMSELVES CORRECTLY.

THE GANGS THAT ARE MORE THAN -- MORE POWERFUL THAN EVER IN HAITI.

SO IF THE POLICE IS IN THAT STATE, YOU CAN IMAGINE WHAT IT IS TO BE A REGULAR HAITIAN GOING AROUND PORT-au-PRINCE, BUT NOT JUST PORT-au-PRINCE, THE HAITIAN CAPITAL.

ALSO IN SO MANY OTHER PLACES.

I THINK THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE COUNTRY QUITE FRANKLY IS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF GANGS' ACTIVITIES, MAKING IT DIFFICULT FOR GODS TO FLOW, MAKING DISPLACED PEOPLE, MAKING IT EXTREMELY HARD FOR FAMILIES TO GET TOGETHER, YOU KNOW, SOWING CHAOS AND DEATH AMONGST THE PEOPLE.

THE ANXIETY THAT CAUSES.

HAVE I NEIGHBORS SPEAKING TO ME ABOUT THEIR KIDS, KIDS AS LITTLE AS 7, 8, 10 YEARS OLD, REGULARLY SPEAKING ABOUT DEATH.

AND, YOU KNOW, BEING EXTREMELY STRESSED IF THEIR PARENTS GOES AROUND.

AND IT'S IDEAS THAT EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT IN THE PLACE ENTIRELY UNDER THE CONTROL OF GANGS, ONE OF THE MORE IMPORTANT FEARS IN HAITI TODAY IS BEING HIT BY STRAY BULLETS.

AND YOU WERE IN A CITY WHERE THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE HOSPITALS ARE CLOSED.

THE MOST IMPORTANT, MOST PEOPLE IN PORT-au-PRINCE TODAY IS CLOSED DUE TO THE GANG VIOLENCE.

MANY DOCTORS NOT GOING TO WORK BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THEY FEAR FOR THEIR LIVES.

AND WE ARE TALKING ABOUT A COUNTRY WHERE MORE THAN 40% OF HAITIAN-TRAINED DOCTORS TODAY ALREADY LEFT HAITI TODAY.

THE FEW OPERATING, WORKING IN THE EXTREME DIRE CONDITIONS.

>> DO PEOPLE IN HAITI WANT OUTSIDE INTERVENTION?

I MEAN, THIS IS A COUNTRY THAT'S HAD SO MANY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD TRYING TO HELP.

AND THAT EFFORT BACKFIRES.

WHERE ARE PEOPLE NOW?

WHAT IS THE PUBLIC SENTIMENT OF WANTING AN INTERVENTION FROM THE WEST, THE U.S., WHOEVER?

>> OKAY, SO I THINK THERE ARE SOME THINGS HAPPENING.

THE FIRST THING IS THE HISTORY.

THE LAST BEING FOR INTERVENTION IN HAITI WAS, YOU KNOW, FROM -- THAT 2004 AND 2007 WITH THE UNITED NATIONS.

AND ALTHOUGH THIS MISSION HELPED TONE DOWN AGAINST THE VIOLENCE, HELPED STABILIZE THE COUNTRY FOR A MOMENT, BUT IT WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR HUNDREDS OF CASES OF VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS.

WE HAVE A MISSION THAT BRINGS CHOLERA TO HAITI.

AND FOR A LONG TIME, THE UNITED NATIONS REFUSED TO RECOGNIZE ITS ROLE IN BRINGING THE CHOLERA THAT KILLED ABOUT 10,000 PEOPLE AND INFECTED MANY MORE.

AND STILL TODAY HAITI IS FACING THIS CHOLERA WHILE WE HAVE ALL THE CRISES THAT I DESCRIBED BEFORE.

YOU ALSO HAVE THE IMPLICATION OF THE U.S.

IN SUPPORTING THE DICTATORSHIP OF DUVALIER TO 1986.

YOU HAVE THE U.S.

OCCUPATION FROM 1914 TO 1934.

YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW -- IF YOU GO EVEN UP, YOU CAN ALSO FIND THE INNOCENCE, THE 1825 RANSOM THAT HAITI HAD TO PAY TO FRANCE AFTER HAITI SOLDIERS KIND OF TOOK THEIR FREEDOM FROM FRANCE.

SO I THINK THIS IS FRESH IN PEOPLE'S MEMORY.

BUT AT THE SAME TIME, MANY HAITIANS ACTUALLY RECOGNIZE THAT THE HAITIAN NATIONAL POLICE, THE HAITIAN FORCES ARE -- TURN DOWN AGAINST THE GANGS TO FIGHT BACK, AGAINST THE GANGS THAT ARE EXTREMELY POWERFUL.

A COLLECTION OF BUSINESS CONDUCTED A POLL IN THE PAST YEARS THAT WOULD INDICATE THE VAST MAJORITY OF PEOPLE ARE FOR SOME INTERVENTION.

HOWEVER, HOW THIS INTERVENTION IS GOING TO BE CONDUCTED, WHAT COMPONENT OF IT IS GOING TO BE, YOU KNOW, SUPPORTING AND STRENGTHENING THE HAITIAN NATIONAL POLICE, THESE ARE OPEN QUESTIONS, BECAUSE IF THIS IS TO BE SUSTAINABLE, IF THIS IS TO BE DOABLE, IT HAS TO BE SOMETHING LED BY THE HAITIAN PEOPLE.

HAITIAN PEOPLE CAN TAKE THEIR OWN DESTINY.

AND BRING SECURITY TO THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES.

>> I KNOW THIS IS DIFFICULT TO MEASURE, BUT CAN YOU DETECT WHAT THE LEVEL OF OPTIMISM OR HOPE IS IN PEOPLE THAT THIS CRISIS TOO SHALL PASS?

ARE THEY INCREASINGLY DEPRESSED ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW?

WHAT ARE YOU GET IS A SENSE WHEN YOU GO OUT IN THE FIELD AND REPORT ON SO MANY OF YOUR STORIES?

>> I SPOKE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS OF DOCTORS FLEEING HAITI IN THE PAST YEARS TO FIND A BETTER LIFE ABROAD, TO FIND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES.

BUT SO MANY DOCTORS ACTUALLY TODAY GO EVERY DAY TO THE FEW HOSPITALS THAT ARE FUNCTIONING TO HELP PEOPLE.

WHEN I'M MEETING WITH HUMANITARIAN PEOPLE, NOT JUST PEOPLE COMING FROM ABROAD IN THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, BUT THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE FOLKS GOING TO DISTRIBUTE FOOD, GOING TO HELP IN POOR NEIGHBORHOODS, GOING IN NEIGHBORHOODS ACTUALLY CONTROLLED BY THE GANGS ARE HAITIAN.

HAITIAN INSTITUTIONS AND HAITIAN PEOPLE.

WHEN I SPEAK TO, YOU KNOW, POLICE OFFICERS, DESPITE EVERYTHING, DESPITE THE FACT THAT THEY'RE NOT PAID WELL, DESPITE THE FACT THEY ARE UNEQUIPPED, THEY FEEL A SENSE OF DUTY.

SO MANY OF THEM TELL ME, TO SERVE AND TO HELP.

WHEN I SEE REGULAR HAITIANS, YOU KNOW, HELPING AND SHARING WHAT THEY HAVE TO HELP NEIGHBORS AND TO ASSIST HOWEVER THEY CAN, THESE ARE SMALL INDICATIONS FOR ME THAT PEOPLE ARE NOT HOPELESS.

PEOPLE ARE TAKING RESPONSIBILITY, AND PEOPLE KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, A BETTER FUTURE IS POSSIBLE WHENEVER THEY GET TOGETHER.

AND TRY TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THEIR OWN SITUATIONS.

>> WIDLORE MERANCOURT OF "THE WASHINGTON POST" JOINING US FROM HAITI, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.

>> THANK YOU.