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Billions invested in Haiti since 2010 earthquake have not improved country: ‘We’re still working’

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The U.S. has committed hundreds of millions of dollars to renewed initiatives to help Haiti during its crime crisis in the country, but concerns remain about whether the country will properly utilize the money, according to an expert. 

Haiti received around $13.5 billion in the years following a devastating 2010 earthquake, thanks to an international effort led by the U.S. and the United Nations, around 120% of the country’s GDP at the time.

«They never rebuilt Port-au-Prince. You’re talking about a city that doesn’t have a sanitation system, doesn’t have basic plumbing and electricity, no basic infrastructure … people can’t get anywhere, they’re walking up and down the dirt,» said Jack Brewer, a former NFL player and philanthropist who has pursued initiatives to help rebuild Haiti.

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Brewer told Fox News Digital that he felt the funding provided after the 2010 earthquake «wasn’t properly spent.» 

«I got a chance to watch a lot of the things that happened on the ground,» Brewer said. «After the earthquake in 2010, I worked with the NFL Players Association, and we partnered with the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund … it was called the Clinton Haiti Fund … and we raised a lot of money through that, and it started to be allocated.»

«Then other countries came in and started to allocate a lot of money,» he added. «You would think that the long-term goal was to rebuild the city of Port-au-Prince and the surrounding areas that were impacted by the earthquake, but I was there, and a few years went on, and we’re still working.»

SENATE VOTES TO CONFIRM US AMBASSADOR TO HAITI AMID GANG ATTEMPT TO SEIZE POWER IN CARIBBEAN COUNTRY

The U.S. has committed to contribute the bulk of funds for a multinational security mission from East Africa to Haiti, led by Kenya and comprised of police from various countries. The Biden administration will pledge another $33 million in general humanitarian aid to the country, bringing the total committed for the effort to $333 million.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said the crisis «has been a long unfolding story» and will require the international community to help stabilize the country as gangs continue to run rampant.

Haiti Gangs

Violence has erupted in the neighborhood of Solino in Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince as frantic residents have called in to radio stations to request help. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

«Having done all this work, we should be in a place where that mission goes forward,» Blinken said. «It will, we believe, help reestablish security and take back control of the country from gangs.»

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Jimmy Cherizier, known by the nickname «Barbecue,» runs a gang coalition called the G9 Family and Allies, rising to a level of influence that allows him to block sitting Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry from returning to the country until he agrees to resign. 

PENTAGON ALERTED TO POTENTIAL ‘MARITIME MASS MIGRATION’ FROM HAITI AMID CARIBBEAN NATION’S SPIRALING CONFLICT

Brewer said he feels that many Haitians «believe that America is one of the roots of the problem,» going back to the Clintons and their rebuilding efforts following the earthquake.

«They think Washington, D.C., is controlling these leaders that are coming into the country, and, as you can see, most of the leaders are corrupt,» Brewer claimed. «They’re in, and it’s kind of the culture in Haiti: As a politician, once you get there, you get that power so you can enrich yourself.»

Jimmy "Barbeque" Chérizier

Jimmy «Barbeque» Cherizier claimed responsibility for the jailbreak that set about 4,000 inmates loose in Haiti and the recent violence. (United Nations)

When asked about their role in the Haiti recovery, spokespersons for the former president and the secretary told Fox News Digital: «The Clintons worked tirelessly to address the needs of the Haitian people in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake. Even as their detractors have distorted and obfuscated the facts, they have never shied away from doing all they could to lift people up. It’s easy to point fingers from afar for political gain, but it impedes progress, and that’s tragic.»

An expert on Haiti told The Associated Press that after President René Préval left office in 2011, he found subsequent Haitian leaders were at best easy on the gangs and at worst tied to them. 

HAITI’S FUTURE GOVERNANCE FACES STRUGGLE BETWEEN POLITICAL POWER AND GANG INFLUENCE

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The gangs have gained influence throughout the previous decades, but their increasing influence and ties with the country’s political leadership allowed them to gain money through a mix of extortion, kidnappings, and drugs and weapons smuggling.

Brewer worries that even without the fear of diverting the funds, he does not have confidence that the new money will prove effective, citing the post-earthquake humanitarian aid and lack of long-lasting improvements.

Ariel Henry

Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry attends a public lecture at the United States International University in Nairobi, Kenya, on March 1, 2024. The prime minister traveled to Kenya to push for the U.N.-backed deployment of a police force to help fight gangs in Haiti. Henry, who is facing calls to resign or form a transitional council, remains unable to return home. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku/File)

In a 2016 review of some of the initiatives applied to Haiti following the natural disaster, ABC News found that a $400 million garment factory that promised to create plenty of jobs for the area had ultimately «underdelivered.»

«They’re building infrastructure with no coding,» he said. «They don’t have coding, so if they get hit with another earthquake, the same thing is going to happen.»

CONGRESSMAN EVACUATES 10 AMERICANS FROM CRIME-RAVAGED HAITI, SLAMS BIDEN FOR ‘PATTERN OF ABANDONMENT’

The country struggled to cope with a cholera outbreak that started after U.N. peacekeepers accidentally introduced the disease to the island. Around 10,000 people died as a result of the disease.

Part of the issue was that money given to Haiti had already been earmarked for a number of necessary services, such as paying the Red Cross for their on-the-ground assistance, as well as other rescue services.

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Pedestrians walk past a soldier guarding the area of the international airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on March 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

«The actual funds left on the ground, a lot of them got into the hands of the wrong people or the folks in power,» Brewer added, calling the recovery effort «the worst handling of a natural disaster in the history of the planet.» 

«It’s been very disappointing to see the level of corruption, particularly around things that involve children and youth, and trying to get medical supplies in and out of the country … it has been very difficult,» he said. 

Regarding the $333 million headed for Haiti in the coming months, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) told Fox News Digital that «any interference in, or diversion of, humanitarian aid is unacceptable.»

«USAID takes its duty as a steward of U.S. taxpayer funding seriously and holds implementing partners to the highest standards to ensure that taxpayer funds are used wisely, effectively, and for their intended purposes,» a USAID spokesperson said. «We require our partners to have robust safeguards and risk-mitigation systems in place to ensure that principled humanitarian aid reaches those who need it most.»

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The agency noted that it works with humanitarian partners with «extensive experience working in challenging environments» and who have «demonstrated their commitment to stay and deliver life-saving assistance with impartiality, neutrality and independence while ensuring the safety of their staff and facilities.»

The United Nations did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment by the time of publication.

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The Associated Press and Fox News Digital’s Michael Lee and Bradford Betz contributed to this report.

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INTERNACIONAL

Horror en el metro de Nueva York: prendió fuego a una mujer y se sentó en un banco de la estación a ver cómo moría

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El horror invadió este domingo por la mañana al metro de Nueva York, cuando una mujer fue quemada viva de manera intencional dentro de un vagón en una estación de Coney Island, al sur de la ciudad. Por el hecho fue detenido un ciudadano de Guatemala de 33 años que viajaba en el mismo tren y que se sentó en un banco a ver cómo la víctima moría envuelta en llamas, señalaron fuentes oficiales.

Según la cadena de televisión ABC7, el acusado, sobre el que todavía no pesan cargos concretos, que llevaba «varios años» residiendo en Estados Unidos, pero se desconoce por el momento su identidad.

Tampoco se conoce la identidad de la víctima, pero en su caso porque su cuerpo resultó «totalmente calcinado» y fue imposible su reconocimiento.

La Policía aseguró que la mujer murió por un incendio provocado por un hombre que prendió sus ropas con un mechero. Suponen que antes del ataque se había quedado dormida y que no había tenido interacción con el acusado hasta el final de la línea en Brooklyn, alrededor de las 7:30 de la mañana, hora local.

La Policía aseguró que la mujer murió por un incendio provocado por un hombre que prendió sus ropas con un mechero.

Un video aparecido en varios medios muestra al asesino observando mientras las llamas se propagaban por el cuerpo de la víctima en la estación Stillwell Avenue de la línea F, en Coney Island. «Es uno de los crímenes más depravados que una persona puede cometer», definió la comisionada de Policía, Jessica Tisch.

De confirmarse la autoría del guatemalteco detenido, el crimen se produce en un momento de tensión por la cuestión migratoria, después de que el presidente electo, Donald Trump, haya asociado durante la pasada campaña electoral a los emigrantes indocumentados con el aumento de la criminalidad en el país, sin aportar pruebas que lo demuestren.

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El paso a paso del macabro ataque y la detención del sospechoso

Después de que el tren se detuvo, un video de vigilancia del vagón de metro mostró al hombre acercarse “tranquilamente” a la víctima, que estaba sentada inmóvil, posiblemente durmiendo, y prenderle fuego a su ropa con lo que parecía ser un encendedor. Entonces la ropa de la mujer “ardió completamente en cuestión de segundos”, dijo Tisch.

Agentes en un patrullaje de rutina en la estación de metro Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue olfatearon y vieron humo y descubrieron a la mujer en llamas, de pie en medio del tren. Después de que el fuego fue extinguido, el personal médico de emergencia declaró a la mujer muerta en el lugar.

Sin que los agentes lo supieran, el sospechoso había permanecido en el sitio y estaba sentado en una banca en la plataforma del metro, exactamente afuera del vagón, dijo Tisch. Las cámaras corporales de los oficiales captaron un “vistazo muy claro y detallado” del sospechoso y esas imágenes fueron difundidas públicamente.

El ciudadano guatemalteco señalado como el presunto atacante de una mujeren el metro de Nueva York. Foto EFE/ New York Police DepartmentEl ciudadano guatemalteco señalado como el presunto atacante de una mujeren el metro de Nueva York. Foto EFE/ New York Police Department

Después de recibir más tarde una llamada de los adolescentes al teléfono de emergencias 911, otros agentes de tránsito identificaron al hombre en otro tren de metro y avisaron por radio a la siguiente estación, donde más oficiales mantuvieron las puertas del tren cerradas, registraron cada vagón y finalmente lo detuvieron sin incidentes, con un encendedor en el bolsillo.

Así lo aseguró Joseph Gulotta, jefe de tránsito, quien dijo también que la investigación continúa, lo que incluye determinar si la mujer tenía dónde vivir o no, y el historial del sospechoso.

Inseguridad en el metro de Nueva York

El caso fue la segunda muerte en un metro de Nueva York este domingo. A las 12:35 de la madrugada, la policía respondió a una llamada de emergencia por un asalto en proceso en la estación 61st Street-Woodside en el distrito de Queens, y encontró a un hombre de 37 años con una puñalada en el torso y a un individuo de 26 años con varias cortadas en todo el cuerpo.

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El hombre de más edad fue declarado muerto en un hospital cercano mientras que el más joven estaba en condición estable, dijo la policía.

En tanto, el mes pasado un hombre abrió fuego en el Upper West Side y luego huyó a una estación cercana antes de ser arrestado.

En febrero, el conductor de un tren de la línea A fue atacado y herido. A la semana siguiente, la gobernadora del estado, Kathy Hochul, anunció que desplegaría 1.000 agentes de policía y de la Guardia Nacional en el transporte público.

Con información de EFE y ANSA.

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