Former police chief Mario Andrésol installed as Haiti’s secretary of public security 


Overview:

Mario Andrésol, former head of the Haitian Nationwide Police, was sworn in as Secretary of State for Public Safety on Jan. 14 to assist handle Haiti’s worsening gang violence, which left over 5,600 useless, greater than 2,200 injured, and over 700,000 individuals displaced in 2024.

PORT-AU-PRINCE — The previous Director Basic of the Haitian Nationwide Police (PNH), Mario Andrésol, was sworn in Tuesday as Haiti’s new Secretary of State for Public Safety. He has returned to guide the nation’s safety system after 13 years away from public service. The set up ceremony was held on the Prime Minister’s workplace in Musseau, Port-au-Prince. The transitional authorities bets on Andrésol’s previous expertise on the helm of the PNH to assist restore safety and order within the face of felony gang actions.

Andrésol’s return comes as Haiti grapples with gang management over greater than 80% of Port-au-Prince and widespread violence that left over 5,600 useless, 2,212 injured and 700,000 displaced in 2024, in line with UN studies. Moreover,  almost 1,500 kidnapping circumstances have been recorded final 12 months. Regardless of worldwide intervention, together with a Kenya-led multinational pressure deployed final June to assist Haitian police, progress has been sluggish, with solely 572 out of two,500 promised personnel at present on the bottom.

As gang violence continues to escalate, the Haitian authorities has made key modifications to its safety management. Following the reappointment of Rameau Normil because the Director Basic of the PNH, Andrésol, one other seasoned police chief, has been tasked with restoring stability in a nation overwhelmed by insecurity.

From From left to proper: Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé; President of the Transitional Presidential Council, Leslie Voltaire; presenting the decree of appointment to the Secretary of State for Public Safety, Mario Andrésol, throughout his set up by the Minister of Justice and Public Safety on the Prime Minister’s official residence in Musseau, Port-au-Prince, on January 14, 2025. Picture by Dieugo André for The Haitian Instances.

His tenure as police chief from 2005 to 2012 is broadly thought to be profitable, significantly in containing gang exercise with the assist of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Throughout his set up, Andresol emphasised the significance of nationwide unity to deal with the nation’s worsening safety disaster.

“Mario Andrésol, identified for his expertise and willpower, can have the ministry’s full assist within the combat in opposition to insecurity,” Patrick Pélissier, the Minister of Justice and Public Safety, mentioned in a speech as he put in the previous head of the Haitian police.

 “The time is for concrete actions to permit the inhabitants to go about their actions freely.”

Mario Andrésol, Haiti’s new Secretary of State for Public Safety

For Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, who was current on the set up, “this appointment illustrates the federal government’s robust will to deal with the nation’s safety challenges.”

“Public safety is and can stay the muse upon which we’ll construct a steady, affluent, and united Haiti,” Fils-Aimé mentioned, echoing Andrésol’s name for unity amongst all actors to deal with the rampant gang-fueled insecurity.

Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé shakes arms with the brand new Secretary of State for Public Safety, Mario Andrésol, in entrance of the President of the Transitional Presidential Council through the set up ceremony. Picture by Dieugo André for The Haitian Instances.

“The time is for concrete actions to permit the inhabitants to go about their actions freely,” mentioned Andrésol throughout his swearing-in ceremony.

“That is the time for sacrifice, creation, and transcendence; solely at this value will we achieve pulling our nation out of this abyss and restoring it to its rightful place amongst nations.”

A seasoned chief in safety governance

Andrésol isn’t any stranger to the complexities of Haiti’s safety challenges. A graduate of the Haitian Navy Academy (1984), he has additionally undergone specialised coaching in the USA and at France’s Nationwide Gendarmerie Officer College in Melun. Earlier than main the PNH, he served as an infantry officer within the Haitian Armed Forces (FADH), rising to the rank of captain earlier than the army was disbanded in 1995 by former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

The brand new Secretary of State for Public Safety, Mario Andrésol, had a quick alternate with the present Director Basic of the Haitian Nationwide Police, Rameau Normil, throughout a photo-op session on the Secretary’s set up by the Minister of Justice and Public Safety on the official residence of the Prime Minister in Musseau, Port-au-Prince, on January 14, 2025. Picture by Dieugo André for The Haitian Instances.

He joined the newly fashioned PNH shortly after 1995, holding varied management positions, together with Director of the Central Judicial Police (DCPJ) in 2001, earlier than being appointed because the Director Basic of the establishment in 2005. Andrésol’s management helped bolster police capabilities throughout a vital interval, with the PNH rising from 5,500 officers in 2004 to over 9,000 by 2008. Arrest charges additionally elevated considerably, reflecting a concerted effort to help judicial authorities in combating crime and impunity.

Public reactions to Andrésol’s appointment

Opinions about Andrésol’s return are usually constructive, with many citing his monitor document as a cause for cautious optimism.

“I believe the selection of Andésol relies on his constructive monitor document on the head of the PNH,” mentioned a grocery store supervisor in Port-au-Prince, talking with The Haitian Instances on the situation of anonymity. 

From left to proper: Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, President of the Transitional Presidential Council Leslie Voltaire, Minister of Justice and Public Safety Patrick Pélissier, Minister of Protection Jean-Michel Moïse, the brand new Secretary of State for Public Safety Mario Andrésol, and the Director Basic of the Police, Rameau Normil, exhibiting their champagne glasses on the ceremony on January 14, 2025. Picture by Dieugo André for The Haitian Instances.

“Now that he has been appointed,” he mentioned, “we’re ready for an settlement between him and the Director Basic of the Police, in addition to convincing outcomes in opposition to the insecurity.”

A social sciences scholar on the State College of Haiti (UEH), who additionally requested anonymity resulting from security issues, shared an identical sentiment. “I believe Andrésol is an efficient alternative as a result of he is aware of the terrain effectively. We’ll wait to see what this can carry.”

The next are some photographs from the set up ceremony of the brand new Secretary of State for Public Safety, Mario Andrésol, who led the Haitian Nationwide Police from 2005 to 2012. All photographs by Dieugo André for The Haitian Instances.



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