Photos

Here is a picture of former Senator François Anick Joseph who became Ministry of the Interior and Territorial Communities.

In a circular note dated April 1, 2016, by the General Directorate of the Ministry of Interior and Territorial Communities (MICT), the executives and the other employees of the department were informed that Mr. François Anick Joseph (born December 23, 1961) will be installed as the new minister of the Ministry of the Interior & Territorial Communities. His installation took place on the same afternoon. The portfolio of this ministry was earlier given to Pierrot Delienne, temporarily, along with his Ministry of Foreign and Religious Affairs on March 28, 2016. François Anick, a member of the ALTENATIV political party is a teacher by profession. We might remember that, following the chaotic August 9 election, then Senator Anick Joseph from Artibonite, on behalf of a joint committee, demanded the arrest of the President of CEP, Pierre Louis Opont. He accused Opont of misusing the $38 million election fund, which he received on behalf of the State, but he led the country to a dead end.

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Here is a picture of the square Hugo Chavez inaugurated on March 31, 2016. It is located not far from the Toussaint Louverture International Airport.

On Thursday, March 31, the new Haitian Prime Minister Enex Jean-Charles, in the presence of the Minister of Culture and Communication, Marcus Aurelius Garcia, the Minister of Environment Mr. Simon Dieuseul Desras inaugurated the Square Hugo Chavez near the Toussaint Louverture International Airport. The Head of Government on behalf of the President of the Republic, Jocelerme Privert, paid tribute to the contributions of the Venezuelan Government especially mentioning the benefits under the PetroCaribe program that Haiti receives and Venezuelan assistance in the reconstruction process of Haiti. He also mentioned about the historic ties between the two countries. Mr. Aristóbulo Istúris Almeida, the Executive Vice President of Venezuela who had travelled to Haiti for this inauguration, reminded Haiti's contribution to Venezuela's independence. When Simón Bolívar was expelled from Jamaica, he received help from the Haitian government under Alexandre Pétion for his military campaigns. As per Vice President Almeida's statement, President Hugo Chavez used to mention that the debt of Venezuela to Haiti is priceless.

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Here is a icture of the protest taking place in Labadee. in January, 2016. preventing Guests aboard Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas from visiting the cruise line's private destination of Labadee

On January 19, 2016, a political protest on the upcoming political election prevented the guest aboard the ship "Freedom of the Seas" from going to Labadee. The ship captain decided not to let passengers off the ship on safety reason, because several groups of protesters staged a demonstration in small boats. As per Royal Caribbean's statement, although the protest was peaceful in nature, it was evident that if the protest had continued, it would have a significant impact on the ability of the tourists to enjoy Labadee. The cruise company cancelling the trip, travelled to Falmouth, Jamaica as per its plan. 'Labadee' is a 260-acre peninsula on the northern coast of Haiti, known as a vacationer's paradise; it has been leased to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. until 2050. A private beach resort leased to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd features pristine beaches, coral reefs and lagoon-like bays surrounded by forested mountains.

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Here is a picture of the CEP members. This CEP was formed in March 2016 under the government of Jocelerme Privert.

On Tuesday, March 29, 2016, at the National Palace, the Interim President Jocelerme Privert, accompanied by the Prime Minister, Enex Jean-Charles chaired the first Council of Ministers of the new government. During this first Council of Ministers, a decree appointing 9 members of the new Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) was adopted. The following list of these members was published in the official newspaper of the Republic. 1) Carlos Hercule : Episcopal Conference of Haiti ; 2) Frinel Joseph : Reformed worship ; 3) Kenson Polynice : Peasant / Voodoo sector ; 4) Marie-Herolle Michel : Patronal sector ; 5) Josette Jean Dorcély : Union sector ; 6) Léopold Berlanger : Press sector ; 7) Jean Lucien Bernard : University sector ; 8) Marie Frantz Joachim : Woman sector ; and 9) Jean Simon Saint-Hubert : Human Rights sector. On Wednesday, March 30th, they were sworn in before the President, Prime Minister and judges with the commitment "to respect the Constitution and the laws of the Republic, to fulfill my duties accurately and with loyalty and conduct myself in all with dignity."

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Here are several pictures of the Haitian businessman Marc Antoine ACRA.

Marc Antoine Acra, as the Director General of the company categorically rejected this statement as derogatory rumors and said an American freight company chartering boats for NABATCO receives payments of the freight and is fully responsible for the contents of the cargo loaded on the ships. These cargoes were accepted under the supervision of Colombian port authorities, checked by the narcotics control authorities and the security service before leaving the port of Buenaventura. NABATCO is nothing more than a vessel owner, and cannot be held responsible for any act performed beyond the limits its knowledge.

Danton, as the new Government Commissioner, has issued travel interdiction for several individuals, including Alix Celestin on the belief that it could bring light on the matter. There was a single contract between the State and NABATCO valuing between 700 and 800 million gourdes, but that was awarded without any tender. The act of Mr. Alix Célestin was beyond his authority as there was no proper tender that allowed Acra to carry the load aboard Vessel Manzanares. The ship with a Panamanian flag as per declaration was supposed to carry a cargo of sugar for NABATCO commissioned by the company of Marc Antoine Accra. Marc Antoine Acra is a member of the powerful Acra business family in Haiti.

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Danton Léger issued a departure prohibition against Marc Antoine Acra and Alix Celestin.

As per popular radio station Scoop FM report dated April 5, 2016, the new Government Commissioner, Jean Danton Léger has imposed a travel ban on Marc Antoine Acra & Alix Celestin in respect of a seizure of drugs about one year ago (77 kilos of cocaine and 10 kilos of heroin, valuing about three million wholesale and ten million dollars retail) found in a cargo of sugar coming from Colombia belonging to the businessman known as Marc Antoine Accra. The ship 'Manzanares' belonging to Acra's company NABATCO was docked at the Mevs Wharf (port) in Haiti on April 15, 2015. Manzanares, (113.3 m x 16.4 m) was anchored in the bay of Port-au-Prince alongside two other boats. In reply to his travel interdiction, Marc Anthoine Acra has said, the words of advocating transparency and justice from a Government Commissioner representing a transitional government reminds him of the dictatorial regime of Duvalier-- full of arbitrary acts and anarchism. Danton's investigation reveals that Alix Celestin, the Director of the National Port Authority is also a partner in crime with Marc Acra.

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Petionville in the metropolis of Port-au-Prince, in spite of being among the wealthiest parts of the country, is not too well equipped with fire fighting services. Consequently, the intervention of the fire fighting service was inadequate. The trucks were not provided with the necessary equipments and water was insufficient. Private water trucks had to intervene as reinforcements. As per Bianca Stecker, the distraught daughter of the owner of 'Cubano', they had been complaining about the unauthorized market building for past few years, but no authority ever paid any heed to their complaints in violation of safety norms.

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Fire in Petion-Ville, Haiti - The fire started in the morning around 8:00 A.M in a market adjacent to the 'Cubano' where stocks of inflammable construction materials were stored and it spread very quickly to the other shops in the market, and to Cubano and another neighboring house. The exact cause of the fire is yet to be known, but it could be related to an electrical short circuit which came in contact with the flammable items stored in the warehouses of the market. Damages caused by the rapid fire are of considerable amount.

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Fire in Petion-Ville - A fire in the morning of April 4th completely destroyed one of the oldest hotels in the heart of the city of Port-au-Prince at Petionville named "Cubano" which was renamed as 'The Perroquet' (The Parrot) in 2012. Only the walls of 'Cubano' remain among the charred debris. About 10 people were inside the hotel when the fire started, but all escaped unhurt. This 12-room property was the home of regular concerts and parties for promotion of traditional Haitian culture and it was an integral part of Petion-Ville's night life. The celebrated hotel gutted into fire in less than twenty minutes. Stephane Malebranche, who was in the crowd of onlookers gathered outside the gutted building said, 'Cubano' was a part of the social scene since 1970; it was an important part to end a joyful evening.

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Fire in Petion-Ville, Haiti. The new Minister of Justice and Public Security Camille Junior Edouard visited the spot after a few hours of the incident and sympathized with all the victims of the tragedy. The minister had welcomed the efforts of the youth of Petion-ville that helped firefighters to control the blaze. He had reiterated his commitment about strengthening the response capacity of the National Police of Haiti and a well equipped fire fighting force.

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