Thousands protest in Haiti as UN to discuss troop request

Thousands across Haiti have organized protests demanding the prime minister's resignation as the country commemorated the death of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, a slave who became leader of the world’s first Black republic

Thousands across Haiti organized protests on Monday demanding the prime minister's resignation as the country commemorated the death of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, a slave who became the leader of the world’s first Black republic.

The protests come hours before the United Nations Security Council is scheduled to meet and vote on several measures to tackle the increasingly chaotic situation in Haiti, which is awaiting a response on its recent request for the immediate deployment of foreign troops.

“The U.S. needs Haiti to make its own decisions and not interfere in Haiti’s business,” said Marco Duvivier, a 35-year-old auto parts store manager, who had joined Monday’s protest in Port-au-Prince. “Life is not going to get better with an international force.”

Haiti has practically reached a standstill more than a month after one of the country’s most powerful gangs surrounded a key fuel terminal in the capital and prevented the distribution of more than 10 million gallons of gasoline and fuel and more than 800,000 gallons of kerosene stored on site.