Chimères
As chimères are Haitian gangs referred to the party " Fanmi Lavalas " of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide supported and violently vorgingen against their critics and opponents. She has been featured repeatedly in the media since 2001. After René Préval was elected President in 2006, the "chimères" no longer appeared.
Unlike other gangs, the "chimères" made no territorial claims. The locality of La Saline, Aristide's former parish, was identified as the spatial focus. The members were mostly younger men from poor backgrounds, some of whom had already worked in the army or paramilitary groups, were well organized and had easy access to weapons. The “chimères” robbed and kidnapped people, but also appeared at demonstrations as fanatical Aristide supporters who were quick to mobilize and who were extremely violent.
There is no recognizable organizational structure or hierarchy. The newspaper The Miami Herald reported in 2003, citing an unnamed diplomat, that the "chimères" were not only connected with the gang drug and arms trade, but largely identical. Repeatedly, Aristide or his immediate environment was suspected of having organized these groups themselves or hired them if necessary. In return, they would have received cash, bogus employment in public companies or de facto immunity for criminal offenses. Aristide denied this and suspected political opponents of using the groupings to damage his reputation.
Even after Préval was elected President Haiti, the “chimères” were not prosecuted, which can be explained by the fact that the government is hardly able to take action against armed groups in the country. It is also assumed that numerous police officers fear acts of revenge or are involved in paramilitary or criminal activities and are therefore unwilling to investigate these groups. Most of the “chimères” are believed to have been part of criminal gangs in Port-au-Prince and Cité Soleil .
Web links
- Haiti: The chimères, their activities and their geographic presence , source: “Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada”, published on the UNHCR website
- Press review of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Mannheim
Individual evidence
- ↑ Haiti: The chimères, Their activities and Their geographic presence; the treatment of the chimères by the authorities and the presence of group members within the government and the police (2006 - May 2008). “Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada”, published on the UNHCR website , June 3, 2008, accessed September 12, 2017 .
- ↑ Documentation for Chimeres AKA Popular Organizations. Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Mannheim , 2013, accessed on September 12, 2017 (English).
- ^ Marika Lynch: Violent pro-government gangs still prevalent in Haiti's politics. The Miami Herald , published on latinamericanstudies.org, June 5, 2003, accessed September 15, 2017 .