The 80% of Port-au-Prince is controlled by armed gangs, which are located in strategic areas, especially on the roads that connect the different departments of the Caribbean country.

The bandits have the toll booths, and these hinder the free movement of goods and people.

Economist Pierre Marie Boisson, quoted by the daily Le Nouvelliste, stressed that insecurity generates inflation, and lamented that for the sixth consecutive year the country is experiencing negative economic growth, with an estimated contraction of -4.2% by 2024.

In his view, once the problem of insecurity was resolved, the fight against inflation would be a priority to restore social harmony.

Any strategy to be followed requires rigorous management of public finances through fiscal reforms, in which customs must be a priority, as smuggling and low customs revenues hit the national economy.

An integrated and coordinated approach to security investments, structural reforms and political will is essential to put Haiti back on the path of sustainable growth, Boisson stressed.

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