PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) – Masked officers who said they belong to a disgruntled sector of the Haitian police force known as Fantom 509 raided several police stations in Port-au-Prince on Wednesday, freeing arrested comrades accused of participating in an alleged coup against President Jovenel Moise in trouble last month.
The group of policemen, along with some civilians, set fire to a police station and then went to a local Nissan dealership, which was looted and vandalized. Among the policemen who invaded the police station were uniformed policemen, with their faces covered to prevent them from being recognized.
The day began with policemen and cadets from the police academy marching towards the police headquarters to demand that the bodies of five policemen killed during a raid in the Vila de Deus favela last week be recovered from the gang that still holds them. The favela is run by the 5 Seconds gang.
The ill-fated operation, which took place five days ago, was aimed at arresting gang members, but resulted in the death of five police officers and injuries to several others.
Things heated up in the Haitian capital on Wednesday, when disgruntled police officers took to the streets demanding the release of their imprisoned colleagues. They told local media that they belonged to the Fantom 509.
The political conflict in Haiti has deepened as opposition leaders say Moïse’s five-year term has expired. They demanded that he resign on February 7. That day, Moïse announced that the authorities had arrested 23 people accused of plotting a coup to kill him and overthrow his government, including a senior police officer and a Supreme Court judge favored by the opposition.
Hours after the arrests, the opposition appointed an alleged transitional president whom no one recognized and organized protests.