At the mercy of gangs

Kenyan police officers patrolling the seaport, which has been a gang stronghold, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. — ©2024 The New York Times Company

IF the burned-out cars, bullet-riddled schools, demolished buildings and desolate streets in downtown Port-au-Prince weren’t enough evidence of the terrible things that happened in Haiti, someone left an even more ominous hint: skulls in the middle of the street.

A human head propped up on a stick with another on the ground beside it in front of a government office was apparently intended as a menacing message from gang members to the Kenyan and Haitian police officers trying to restore order: Beware, we rule these streets.