Gangs in control of Haiti rooted in the nation's history
MIAMI - From 1791-1804, Haiti was born of violence, it was after all a rebellion of slaves overthrowing their masters.
"The rebellion against France was an extremely bloody one," said Professor Eduardo Gamarra with Florida International University's Politics and International Relations department.
Shunned by many nations fearing slave revolts, straddled with massive French restitution debt and a society fragmented by color and an elite-dominated society, Haiti has dealt with troubles manmade and natural for two and a quarter centuries.
"Haiti never developed a state and political system with strong institutions," said Gamarra.
To chronicle Haiti's woes would take hours, but what of the recent unrest?
The gangs in control are rooted in the historic lack of government institutions and are a present-day reaction to the recent past when there was a glimmer of democracy.
The gangs got their start back in the Jean-Claude Duvalier years (1971 - 1986) and continue through democracy, all of the gangs we see in Haiti today have their roots in the democratic process. Which were not so democratic. For example, in 1991 there was hope when Catholic Priest Jen-Bertrand Aristide was elected president. But it was not to be.
"Aristide created the (Fanmi) Lavalas movement which was rooted in neighborhood gangs," said Gamarra
Aristide was replaced in a bloody military coup.
Further back in time, during the reigns of "Papa Doc" François Duvalier and "Baby Doc" Jean-Claude Duvalier, they too relied on paramilitary gangs called Tonton Macoutes.
Since the earthquake of 2010, the Haitian government has staggered and chaos has ensued. As a result, business owners, according to Gamarra, took matters into their own hands.
"What did they do? Create armed groups to protect their businesses, so in the end, it is the continuation of little private armies that are now out of control," he said.
In present-day Haiti, where there is no functioning government, the business community does not control the gangs and the state does not control the gangs. The gangs have gravitated into trafficking drugs, arms, kidnapping for ransom, and human trafficking.
