星空传媒

Skip to main content

Key fuel depot in Haiti reopens for 1st time since September

Police officers patrol the area of the Varreux fuel terminal in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Nov. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph) Police officers patrol the area of the Varreux fuel terminal in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Nov. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Share
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -

Dozens of trucks lined up at a main fuel terminal in Haiti's capital Tuesday to fill up their tanks for the first time since a powerful gang seized control of the area nearly two months ago.

The drivers were protected by a heavily armed police convoy formed two days after gang boss Jimmy Cherizier, a former police officer nicknamed 鈥淏arbecue,鈥 announced that the G9 gang federation he leads was lifting a fuel blockade and allowing drivers to fill up at the depot.

Government officials said that gas stations. which have been closed since mid-September, would be resupplied Wednesday through Friday and open to customers on Saturday.

鈥淣ow we can breathe,鈥 said Gabriel Salny, a truck driver who was relieved to be again working and earning money. 鈥淗unger almost killed me.鈥

He said the fuel blockade 鈥渉ad an impact on the country, on all Haitians.鈥

Officials with the Varreux terminal said 45 trucks were supplied with more than 300,000 gallons of diesel and more than 39,000 gallons of gasoline Tuesday.

It wasn't immediately clear if the gang federation retained control of the area surrounding the depot in Port-au-Prince that contains about 10 million gallons of diesel fuel and gasoline and more than 800,000 gallons of kerosene.

On Monday, Haiti's Ministry of Defense issued a statement saying that soldiers and police seized control of the fuel terminal after 16 operations as it congratulated those efforts.

The situation had prompted Prime Minister Ariel Henry to request the immediate deployment of foreign troops in early October, a request that the U.N. Security Council has yet to vote on. So far, the Security Council has only voted to place sanctions on Cherizier.

If gas stations open as planned, hospitals and businesses including banks and grocery stores are expected to resume normal operations.

The government has not said whether an increase in fuel prices announced in September would remain in place. At the time, Henry said his administration could no longer afford to subsidize fuel, sparking large protests and the fuel blockade by the G9 gang federation that demanded the prime minister's resignation.

Associated Press reports Evens Sanon in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and Danica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico contributed to this report.

CTVNews.ca 星空传媒

Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.

Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.

A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.

The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.

Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.

Local Spotlight

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man鈥檚 best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.