By PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Eleven inmates were killed in shootouts with police following a prison break in the coastal town of Saint-Marc in central Haiti, a police spokesman said Friday.
Michel Ange Louis Jeune, speaking at a news briefing in Port-au-Prince, did not provide details on how many inmates escaped from the Saint-Marc prison. Local media reported gunfire near the prison, but the total number of inmates held there was not immediately clear.
This marks the third prison break in Haiti this year. In March, gangs stormed the country’s two largest prisons in Port-au-Prince, freeing thousands of inmates. Those attacks contributed to the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
Jeune also announced the arrest of one inmate accused of escaping earlier this year. The suspect was apprehended along with 14 others, including three police officers, in a separate anti-crime operation on Thursday.
Haitian prisons face severe overcrowding, with inmates often held in pre-trial detention for years due to the country’s strained judicial system. Prisons nationwide also suffer from chronic shortages of food and water, leading to inmate deaths from malnutrition-related diseases.
During the briefing, police displayed various weapons, including assault rifles, seized in operations unrelated to the latest prison break.
The Saint-Marc incident underscores the ongoing security challenges in Haiti as authorities struggle to contain widespread gang violence.
