Gang eases Haiti fuel blockade, for now

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 Argus today.

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.

But G9 gang leader Jimmy "Barbecue" Cherizier is threatening to block fuel distribution again on 19 November unless President Ariel Henry resigns.

Armed gangs have been preventing fuel trucks from accessing and leaving terminals, adding to chaos that erupted after the July assassination of President Jovenel Moise.

Fuel distribution companies had called a strike, claiming the gangs are endangering their employees.

"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.

"Deliveries are limited and stations in towns away from the capital are yet to receive any."

While some gasoline is available, there are still "chronic shortages" of kerosene and LPG, the commerce ministry said.

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.

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.

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.

Haiti's chief prosecutor is seeking charges against Henry for alleged ties to a main suspect in Moise's killing.

Moise's government was accused of corruption tied to the use of about $2bn in credits under Venezuela's now-defunct PetroCaribe oil initiative.

Moise had persistently denied the accusations.

Henry is refusing to resign, and has asked instead for "technical support" from the Organization of American States (OAS) to fight the gangs.

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.

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."

By Canute James