<article><p class="lead">Haiti's crippling fuel crisis has eased "slightly" after one of the country's major gangs temporarily unblocked supply terminals, the country's commerce ministry and petrol station owners told <i>Argus </i>today.</p><p>Trucks have been ferrying fuel since 12 November from the main Varreaux terminal in the capital Port-au-Prince and other depots after the gang controlling the city suspended restrictions on distribution.</p><p>But G9 gang leader Jimmy "Barbecue" Cherizier is threatening to block fuel distribution again on 19 November unless President Ariel Henry resigns.</p><p>Armed gangs have been <a href="https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2267981-haiti-runs-out-of-fuel-as-gangs-block-distribution">preventing fuel trucks from accessing and leaving terminals</a>, adding to chaos that erupted after the July assassination of President Jovenel Moise.</p><p>Fuel distribution companies had called a strike, claiming the gangs are endangering their employees.</p><p>"Some stations started selling gasoline over the weekend, but there is still a shortage and there are long lines at most," petrol station owners' federation Anapross said.</p><p>"Deliveries are limited and stations in towns away from the capital are yet to receive any."</p><p>While some gasoline is available, there are still "chronic shortages" of kerosene and LPG, the commerce ministry said.</p><p>Haitians have been able to obtain "small volumes" of gasoline from neighbouring Dominican Republic, but "this has had little impact on the overall situation as there is a black market with prices three times as high as those before the crisis," the ministry said.</p><p>The fuel shortage has also affected the operations of independent power producers that burn diesel and state-owned power utility EdH that backs up its hydropower plants with oil-fired generators.</p><p>Haiti produces no oil and has no refinery, and imports products mainly from the US to meet demand of 60,000 b/d, according to official figures.</p><p>Haiti's chief prosecutor is seeking charges against Henry for alleged ties to a main suspect in Moise's killing.</p><p>Moise's government was accused of corruption tied to the use of about $2bn in credits under Venezuela's now-defunct PetroCaribe oil initiative.</p><p>Moise had persistently denied the accusations.</p><p>Henry is refusing to resign, and has asked instead for "technical support" from the Organization of American States (OAS) to fight the gangs.</p><p>Haiti wants OAS help "to allow the re-establishment of a security climate essential for the return to normal functioning of republican institutions," Henry told the Washington-based group.</p><p>The OAS said on 12 November that it "reaffirms the need to take urgent measures to re-establish a climate of security in Haiti" and warned of the threat of "grave impact on the stability of the region."</p><p class="bylines">By Canute James</p></article>
