Overview:
Armed gangs attacked and set fireplace to the headquarters of Radio Télévision Caraïbes (RTVC) in downtown Port-au-Prince on March 13, 2025, marking yet one more assault on Haiti’s press. The assaults continued over the weekend, focusing on Radio Mélodie FM and Télé Pluriel, elevating alarms about the way forward for impartial journalism in a rustic the place gangs now management practically 90% of the capital and its surrounding areas. Authorities officers, civil society leaders and media organizations condemned these assaults, calling for instant motion to carry the perpetrators accountable.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Armed gangs carried out coordinated assaults towards three main media retailers in Port-au-Prince over the weekend, intensifying considerations over press freedom and the rule of legislation in Haiti.
The violence started on March 13, when armed gangs set fireplace to RTVC’s headquarters on Rue Chavannes. Later that day, Radio Mélodie FM was additionally focused. By March 16, gangs stormed Télé Pluriel in Delmas 19, looting tools earlier than setting the constructing ablaze.
Amid rising gang violence in Carrefour-Feuilles, Delmas, and downtown Port-au-Prince, residents issued pressing misery calls, demanding safety from authorities.
Authorities response: A vow for justice
Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils Aimé was fast to sentence the assaults, calling them a blatant try to silence the press. He additionally promised an unwavering offensive towards gangs and an acceleration of efforts to reclaim areas underneath their management.
“In collaboration with the Haitian Nationwide Police (PNH), we’re implementing strengthened safety measures to guard media establishments and guarantee residents’ security,” he mentioned in a statement on March 13.
RTVC: An emblem of Haiti’s media heritage underneath assault
RTVC, considered one of Haiti’s oldest and most influential media retailers, has lengthy performed a key function within the nation’s journalism panorama. The 75-years-old station had already relocated in 2024 on account of escalating gang violence within the downtown space. Nevertheless, some important tools from the station was nonetheless in these premises on Rue Chavannes, experiences Média Libre on X.
“This prison act towards RTVC, a real establishment in Haiti’s media panorama, is a grave assault on press freedom, free expression, and democracy within the nation.”
Affiliation of Haitian Journalists (AJH)
“For months, gangs have dominated downtown, forcing RTVC’s administration to desert the world,” Radio Metronome of Guerrier Dieuseul, RTVC’s information director, wrote on X. “The gangs proceed their rampage, whereas our authorities stay locked in futile energy struggles.”
The most recent assault destroyed very important tools, additional delaying any potential return to the unique studio. Patrick Moussignac, RTVC’s CEO, has but to reply to The Haitian Instances’ request for touch upon the long-term influence of the gang assault on his group.
Wave of media assaults continues
RTVC was not the one goal. On March 15, gangs looted and torched Télé Pluriel in Delmas 19, stripping the tv station of its tools earlier than setting the constructing ablaze.
“The criminals looted and burned a number of companies within the space, together with R&C Plaza and different institutions,” Télé Pluriel’s administration said on its site.
Equally, Radio Mélodie FM suffered main damages when armed teams stormed its headquarters on Thursday, March 13.
These assaults comply with a sample of accelerating gang violence towards the press {and professional} journalists, with gang leaders usually broadcasting their threats dwell on social media networks. In April 2024, armed teams ransacked Presses Nationales, a state-owned media outlet, earlier than looting Le Nouvelliste, Haiti’s 125-year-old newspaper. The latter assault severely impacted its skill to proceed publishing in print.
“Confronted with this act and its grave penalties, we are able to solely flip to judicial and police authorities, whose function is to guard residents and their property,” Le Nouvelliste’s administration wrote on the time.
Media and journalist organizations demand accountability
Haitian and worldwide press freedom advocates strongly denounced the assaults.
The Affiliation of Haitian Journalists (AJH) referred to as the assault on RTVC and different media retailers a direct risk to the democratic transition that started in 1986.
“We urge journalists, media executives, press employees, and all defenders of democracy to unite instantly to counter this local weather of violence,” the AJH mentioned in a press release.
Equally, the Collectif des Médias en Ligne (CMEL) warned that the continued assaults replicate a scientific try to silence impartial journalism.
“This assault is a blatant violation of the rights assured by Article 28 of the Haitian Structure,” the CMEL mentioned, urging swift authorities motion.
Worldwide concern grows.
Exterior Haiti, the Particular Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression (RELE) and the Inter-American Press Affiliation additionally condemned the assaults.
“We urge authorities to analyze promptly and make sure the security of journalists amid the continued violence,” the press affiliation wrote on X.
Press freedom underneath siege amid struggle for Haiti’s freedom of expression
The most recent assaults on RTVC, Radio Mélodie FM and Télé Pluriel come amid an alarming rise in violence towards journalists.
In December 2024, two journalists have been shot and killed whereas masking a gang assault on the College of Haiti Hospital, also referred to as l’Hôpital Général, the place the well being minister had invited reporters to cowl its reopening. A minimum of seven others have been injured within the incident.
The group Konbit pou Rekonstwi Lakay (KORELA) warned that such assaults will persist except concrete motion is taken.
“Freedom of expression can’t be eradicated in Haiti. Authorities should undertake strict measures towards these crimes to forestall additional escalation,” KORELA said.
As gangs tighten their grip on Port-au-Prince and its surrounding spaces, the current wave of assaults highlights the urgent want for presidency intervention to guard journalists and media retailers.