A mob of angry Haitian citizens stormed a hydroelectric plant in the town of Mirebalais on Wednesday, plunging the capital city of Port-au-Prince into darkness, in an attempt to protest the lack of government action against gang violence.
The people of Mirebalais did something similar in May, swarming into the Peligre dam and shutting down its power plant to protest police inaction. Gangsters had swarmed into the town in late March, murdering dozens of people, burning houses, and taking over the local prison.
Peligre is Haiti’s main power plant, an aging facility that dates back to the 1950s and currently runs at a little over half its rated capacity due to poor maintenance. Mirebalais residents decided to storm the facility after the invading gangsters treated themselves to a big concert in the middle of town on May 11. Furious residents took the concert as a symbolic demonstration of gang supremacy and government weakness.
“If the police were serious, that event would never have happened. Now I just sit outside playing dominoes. I can’t even go to town anymore,” a local man complained in May.
The power plant remained offline for several days in May, which angry locals said was further proof of the government’s passivity and incompetence.
Although the townsfolk might seem to have been hurting themselves by causing a blackout, many of them already used portable generators. Supporters of the dam protest said they wanted to make the wealthy political elites in the nation’s capital feel as helpless and uncomfortable as the poor residents of rural communities.
Police officials insisted they did fight back when the gangs invaded Mirebalais, killing some 60 gang members and losing at least one officer from the Anti-Gang Tactical Unit in gun battles. Local vigilante groups managed to kill a few more of the hoodlums.
The Viv Ansanm gang coalition nevertheless declared itself in control of the town, posting photos of hostages it captured and buildings it destroyed. Hundreds of residents fled the town in terror. Other towns feared it was only a matter of time until they were attacked next.
The new storming of the Peligre dam occurred on Wednesday after the police had a showdown with the gangsters occupying Mirebalais – and lost. The victorious gangsters were reportedly able to capture a vehicle from the outmatched security forces and set it on fire.
The gangs uploaded footage of their celebratory car-burning to social media, and a few hours later, the irate residents of Mirebalais uploaded video of themselves overrunning the power plant and knocking over one of its transmission towers.
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