Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

Caribbean-Latin America

Haiti Woman Poisons 40 Gang Members by Giving Them Pies

2025-05-20

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] In the capital of Haiti, a street food vendor poisoned 40 members of the Viv Ansanm criminal group with empanadas. This was reported by Oddity Central, a website dedicated to unusual events, places, inventions, and characters from around the world.

"A Haitian woman who lost family members to a violent criminal gang took revenge on 40 gang members by poisoning them with tainted empanadas," the report said.

According to the portal, the incident took place in the city of Port-au-Prince. There, a woman, whose name is not disclosed for security reasons, offered the criminals pies as a treat, saying that she wanted to thank them for "protecting the area." After the treat, the criminals felt severe pain in their stomachs, and then they began to vomit. Soon, they all died before the ambulance arrived.

However, the story does not end there. The authors of the article claim that soon after the incident, the woman left her home, fearing retribution. It later turned out that her anxiety was not in vain - her home was set on fire. The Haitian woman herself came to the police, where she stated that she planned the poisoning of 40 criminals and acted alone. It is specified that local law enforcement agencies have not yet charged her with murder.

Arguably it was self-defense, or possibly protecting the community from predators…

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Olde Tyme Religion

Iraq arrests 48 for ‘witchcraft and sorcery’ in crackdown on fraud, human-trafficking

2025-04-10

I don’t see where human trafficking comes into it, but the international trade does not appear to be involved.

[Rudaw] Iraq’s interior ministry announced on Tuesday the arrest of 48 individuals, both men and women, across several provinces for engaging in "witchcraft and sorcery," in a campaign that saw the direct backing of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council.

The state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA) cited the ministry as stating that "the arrest was made by the Federal Intelligence and Investigations Agency [FIIA], specifically the Directorate for Combating Human Trafficking, over a period of two weeks."

The campaign targeted locations in Baghdad and other provinces "where witchcraft and sorcery were practiced in Baghdad and other provinces" the ministry said, adding that "those arrested were involved in human trafficking, exploiting victims through fraudulent and deceptive means," and "practicing sorcery while claiming to offer spiritual healing or solutions to family problems."

The operation was conducted with the direct support of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council, which "emphasized the importance of combating these dangerous phenomena, as they intersect with human trafficking crimes and pose a direct threat to social peace, ethical values, and the rule of law."

Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects were involved in extortion, deception, and psychological and physical exploitation of victims, particularly women and kiddies, in blatant violation of human rights
...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty...
and dignity.

FIIA affirmed that this campaign is "part of the national strategy to combat human trafficking," stressing that "the effective coordination with [Iraq’s] Supreme Judicial Council contributed to accelerating judicial procedures and bringing the perpetrators to justice."

Under Iraq’s Penal Code, witchcraft and sorcery are addressed under fraud Article 456, which punishes anyone who profits from fraudulent practices, including exploiting people's beliefs in magic for financial gain, with penalties of up to five years in prison.

Civil society organizations in Iraq have long warned about the growing prevalence of witchcraft and sorcery in the country. Many Iraqis seek these services, which, they argue, contribute to social and security issues.

A 2012 Pew Research Center survey found that belief in witchcraft exists among a substantial number of Moslems in the Middle East and North Africa.

In Iraq, 55 percent of Moslems surveyed said they believed in witchcraft, evil eye as well as supernatural beings.

Of note, in Islam, the majority view considers witchcraft sacrilegious, as it may involve associating others with God, a concept known in Arabic as ’Shirk.’ The latter is regarded as the gravest sin in Islamic theology, as it undermines the fundamental belief in the oneness of God.

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Caribbean-Latin America

Gang Massacre Claims 110 Lives In Cite Soleil

2024-12-09

[X]

🚨🇭🇹 HORROR IN HAITI: GANG MASSACRE CLAIMS 110 LIVES IN CITE SOLEIL

Over 110 elderly residents were slaughtered in Haiti’s Cite Soleil slum after gang leader Monel "Mikano" Felix accused them of witchcraft linked to his child’s illness.

The Viv Ansanm gang, led by Felix, used… pic.twitter.com/FqHVx58ovO
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) December 9, 2024

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Caribbean-Latin America

Haiti: Health system near collapse as medicine dwindles and gangs attack hospitals

2024-04-24

[AFRICANEWS] At hospitals and clinics across Port-au-Prince, life-saving medication and equipment is dwindling or altogether absent as brutal gangs tighten their grip on the capital and beyond.
Do not disrupt the handiwork of Darwin.
The gangs have blocked roads, forced the closure of the main international airport in early March and paralyzed operations at the country’s largest seaport, where containers filled with key supplies remain stuck.

Haiti’s health system has long been fragile, but it’s now nearing total collapse.

The violence has forced several medical institutions and dialysis centers to temporarily close, including Haiti’s largest public hospital.

One of the few institutions still operating is Peace University Hospital, located south of the shuttered airport. From Feb. 29 to April 15, the hospital treated some 200 patients with gunshot wounds, and its beds remain full.

Even if a hospital is operating, sometimes the medical staff is absent because gang violence erupts daily in Port-au-Prince, forcing doctors and nurses to stay at home or turn around if they encounter blocked roads manned by heavily gunnies.

The spiraling chaos has left a growing number of patients with cancer, HIV/AIDS and other serious illnesses with little to no recourse, with gangs also looting and setting fire to pharmacies in the capital’s downtown area.

At the Doctors Without Borders emergency hospital in Cite Soleil, doctors have been forced to cut its daily consultations from 150 to 50 despite the pressing need for medical care.

MSF itself has run out of many medications used to treat diabetes and high blood pressure, and asthma inhalers that help prevent deadly attacks are nowhere to be found in the capital.

Everyone is allowed to enter the MSF compound, but medical staff do a triage to determine which 50 people will be seen.

A baby suffering of malnutrition will not be treated at the hospital that is prioritizing trauma and gun shot wounds.

On Friday morning, 51-year-old Jean Marc Baptiste shuffled into the emergency room with a thick and bloody bandage on his right hand.

He said police in an armored vehicle shot him the previous day, adding that he didn’t have anything in his hand at the time except for a piece of wood he was collecting in an area controlled by gangs to sell as kindle.

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Caribbean-Latin America

In Haiti, kidnapped aid workers released

2010-03-12

[Iran Press TV Latest] Two female aid workers with the Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) in quake-ravaged Haiti, who have been adducted last week, were freed Thursday and are "safe and sound."

For security reasons and in a bid not to "complicate" negotiations to free the women, the Friday kidnapping had been kept secret.

"We confirm that there was a kidnapping," spokesman Michel Peremans told AFP on Thursday. The two women "were freed today."

According to Peremans, the kidnapping of foreign aid workers was the first such incident in the aftermath of the January 12 earthquake in Haiti that took the lives of more than 220,000 people and left 1.3 million people homeless.

"We will see how we can keep working," Peremans said, adding that providing security for workers was of high importance to the group.

The organization maintains 400 foreign employees along with 3,000 Haitians who work in the Central American nation.

"It's very important for us. We want to keep working in Haiti," said the spokesman.

It is believed that the prisoners, who following the quake broke out of their jails, are responsible for the criminal acts underway in the quake-ravaged country. Most of these criminals have sought refuge in Cite Soleil, a city slum ruined by the quake, where police and UN peacekeepers struggle to impose the law.

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Caribbean-Latin America

Gang Stronghold in Haitian Slum Seized

2007-03-01

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - U.N. peacekeepers and Haitian police seized the last remaining gang stronghold in Haiti's largest slum on Wednesday, the latest in a series of military crackdowns aimed at stabilizing the impoverished and divided Caribbean nation.

No shots were fired as scores of U.N. troops entered the seaside slum of Cite Soleil in armored vehicles and on foot, giving the international force sole authority over the lawless area for the first time, according to one U.N. official. The soldiers took over the gritty Bois Neuf quarter, a base for armed gangs blamed for a wave of kidnappings and killings. Seven suspected gang members were arrested in the raid but their leader, known as Beloney, managed to escape.

It was the last gang stronghold in Cite Soleil not occupied by the 9,000-strong U.N. force, known by its French acronym, ~~MISTAKE~~ MINUSTAH. Peacekeepers seized two other gang strongholds during raids earlier this month. "In terms of territory, 100 percent of Cite Soleil is now controlled ... by MINUSTAH with the support of the Haitian government," Brazilian military commander Col. Magno Barroso told The Associated Press.

But U.N. spokeswoman Sophie Boutaud de la Combe gave a more conservative assessment, saying only that peacekeepers "had established a presence everywhere that gangs had controlled," but do not have full control over the entire slum.

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Caribbean-Latin America

Haitian carnival anthems diss U.N.

2007-02-20

Man, nobody likes the UN...
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Songs lampooning politicians have always been a fixture of Haiti's carnival, but this year, musicians have a new favorite target: U.N. peacekeepers.

The airwaves have been filled with satirical songs about the U.N. force, known by its French acronym MINUSTAH, which has been trying to restore order to Haiti since the 2004 rebellion that toppled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
MINUSTAH. I think they were the halftime show at the NBA All Star Game...
"MINUSTAH, you're really just a tourista. You're holding back my country," the group Vwadezil sings in one popular song. "You're just lounging around so why don't you get ... out."

The songs, known as "meringues," add a political dimension to the three-day carnival celebrations. The rum-fueled festivities bring even more chaos to the bustling streets of downtown Port-au-Prince, with tens of thousands of people dancing to live bands on floats.

Haiti's government spent $2 million on this year's carnival, hoping to lure tourists, especially Haitians living in the United States.
Wished I'd have known. Well, not really...
The former French colony, plagued since independence with political upheaval and dire poverty, has a long history of skewering public institutions during carnival.

U.N. troops are only the latest addition to a rhetorical menu that typically includes crooked government officials, outgunned police and kidnappers who prey on the population of 8 million.
Sounds really hilarious...
The peacekeepers have recently become more aggressive in battling the gangs blamed for rampant kidnappings. On Sunday, they captured a gang leader known as Ti Bazil in the Cite Soleil slum.

But many Haitians feel that the force, which combines soldiers and police from more than a dozen countries, has been too slow in stemming violence."MINUSTAH, you've invaded our country, you must make things better," the popular group T-Vice warns in one of its meringues.
Yeah. Not like we should be doing something about it...
Other meringues accuse U.N. bureaucrats of spending more time dining in posh restaurants and sunning themselves on the beach than working to solve the poor country's troubles.
So I guess it's not just us. Although I'd like to see what a "posh" retaurant in Haiti looks like....
"Since the U.N. is now a part of our society, I touch upon it in my music," the band Vwadezil's lead singer, Fresh La, said in an interview. "They're taking a long time to bring peace to the country, and that's keeping us from moving forward."
In Haiti? Moving forward to what?
The U.N. mission takes the jabs in stride. "I think it's part of the Haitian tradition of carnival to make fun of things, even serious things," said Edmond Mulet, the special U.N. representative to Haiti. "It's a way of conveying some sentiments which are genuine and I don't blame for them that. On the contrary, I think they should be welcomed."
Ha ha ha...tell them to get in the very long line. But at the end of all this, I will be out of here and they will still be in Haiti. So..ha ha ha.
Some singers have caused problems for the U.N., however. At last year's carnival, the group Demele performed a profanity-laced song that accused peacekeepers of stealing goats belonging to peasants. Despite denials by the U.N. mission, the accusation spread through the streets and became a common chant during anti-U.N. street protests.
Goats, huh? Should I be reading between the lines here?
"That song caused a lot of issues between MINUSTAH and the population," said that group's frontman, also known as Demele. He alleged that the offending lyric got him uninvited from this year's carnival lineup. U.N. officials and carnival organizers denied censoring any artists. "Musicians have the right to write any song they like," said Yanick Louis, a member of the carnival's artistic committee.

And despite the harsh tone of some songs, other artists said they mean no offense. "I ridicule the U.N. in the spirit of carnival, which is about having fun and letting go," Vwadezil's Fresh La said.
I ridicule the UN because...it's the UN.

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Caribbean-Latin America

UN arrests wanted gang leader in Haitian slum

2007-02-20

The United Nations said Monday it has captured a Haitian gang leader wanted in the killing of family members of two cohorts who had agreed to join a disarmament program.

On a routine patrol Sunday night, peacekeepers arrested Johnny Pierre Louis in the seaside slum of Cite Soleil, the UN mission said in a statement. Louis, also known as Ti Bazil, will be turned over to Haitian national police, UN spokeswoman Sophie Boutaud de la Combe said. The arrest came 10 days after hundreds of UN troops raided Cite Soleil to dislodge armed gangs, which are blamed for a string of kidnappings and killings in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. At least one gang member was killed and four wounded.

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Caribbean-Latin America

UN troops ~~surge~~ flood into Haiti slum

2007-02-10

More than 700 United Nations troops have moved into Haiti's largest slum, sparking a major gun battle with suspected gang members. At least one person was killed and eight injured in the operation in Cite Soleil, a coastal area of the capital Port-au-Prince.

UN spokesman David Wimhurst told the BBC that Friday's operation was the largest incursion into Cite Soleil, home to 300,000 people, yet attempted by the UN. There was fierce fighting and heavy resistance from gang members, Mr Wimhurst said.

Troops entered an area of Cite Soleil known as Boston, the stronghold of a gang leader known only as Evans. Evans has been blamed for kidnappings, killings and rapes in the areas under the control of his gang.

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Caribbean-Latin America

Two Jordanian peacekeepers killed in Haiti

2006-11-12

AMMAN - Gunmen in Haiti on Saturday shot dead two Jordanian UN peacekeepers, the official Petra agency reported. A Jordanian UN peacekeeping patrol was targeted by unknown gunfire in Haiti. A lieutenant and a corporal died, it said, quoting a Jordanian official who did not elaborate. The Jordanian government, which deplores the death of the two martyrs, will continue to assume its humanitarian role in restoring world peace and security, he said.

A 7,500-strong UN peacekeeping force was sent to maintain order after the February 2004 ouster of president Jean Bertrand Aristide. Jordan has around 1,497 soldiers in the force, half of which are deployed around the violence-wracked shantytown of Cite Soleil in the capital Port-au-Prince. At least six Jordanian soldiers have been killed in the lawless Caribbean nation since they were deployed in March 2004.

Last month thousands of Haitians protested in the streets of Cite Soleil demanding the withdrawal of United Nations forces.

I'd go along with that. All UN and other foreign troops out. Then cordon off the place and let the Haitians settle it. No one goes in, no one gets out, until they learn to be civilized.

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Caribbean-Latin America

Haitian Gang Leader Defies President

2006-08-22

That's never happened before.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - The leader of a major gang on Monday defied Haitian President Rene Preval's orders to disarm, saying his followers would give up their weapons only if U.N. peacekeepers stop conducting raids in the slums.

Earlier this month, Preval told gang members suspected of being behind a surge of kidnappings and attacks in this impoverished Caribbean nation that they must disarm or face being killed. Gang leader Amaral Duclona's refusal comply sets up one of the biggest challenges to Preval since he became president in May.

Duclona said he and his men in the Port-au-Prince slum of Cite Soleil had planned to disarm on Monday but reconsidered because of what he called deadly raids by U.N. troops. "As long as (U.N. troops) keep attacking, we are not going to lay down our weapons," Duclona told reporters in the seaside slum, sitting on a red motor scooter.

A military official denied that U.N. troops were launching unprovoked attacks in Cite Soleil, a densely populated shantytown lined with bullet-pocked concrete homes, burned-out cars and mounds of trash. "If armed gangs do not attack us, we will not fire at them," said Lt. Cmdr. Neuzivaldo Dos Anjos, a spokesman for the military of Brazil, which is heading up the 8,800-strong U.N. force in Haiti.

And if they do, we're happy to tag them and bag them," he should have added.

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Caribbean-Latin America

Two US Embassy guards killed in Haiti

2006-03-03

Two Haitian men who worked as security guards for the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince were shot to death as they went home from work, the embassy said on Thursday. Gary Michel Joseph and Ernst Polo were killed late on Wednesday and their bodies were found in a residential area of the capital on Thursday, the embassy said in a statement.

The killings came as Haitian police reported a drop in crime since the February 7 presidential and legislative elections, particularly in dangerous slums such as Cite Soleil. Haiti had been plagued by political and gang violence and a spate of kidnappings for ransom in the months leading up to the vote. Police said slum gangs opposed to the interim government that has run Haiti since ex-president Jean-Bertrand Aristide was deposed two years ago called a halt to the violence, allowing the elections to be held in relative safety. "Measures taken at the political level have contributed to easing the security situation," said Jean St.-Fleur, director of Haiti's administrative police. "In places such as Cite Soleil, Bel-Air and other places reputed as dangerous, the number of kidnappings is practically zero." The U.S. Embassy called the slain guards "devoted professionals" and said it was working with Haitian and U.N. police to find the killers.

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