Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1684, the Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act of 2023. Mr. Speaker, it is no secret that Haiti is in a dire situation. A United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime report, released this year, highlighted increasingly sophisticated and high-caliber firearms and ammunition being trafficked into Haiti amid an unprecedented and rapidly deteriorating security situation. This level of criminal activity is the craft of experienced and well- connected individuals who have long utilized crises and instability in Haiti to gain economic control and increase their political sphere of influence. There are as many as 200 gangs in Haiti who now control at least 85 percent of Port-au-Prince. Gang violence has resulted in the killing of over 1,200 people in Haiti in the first 5 months of the year alone. In just 11 days, the Baz Gran Grif gang murdered 69 people and injured another 83, forcing authorities to abandon several police stations. Authorities believe the gang is responsible for the killing of 14 Haitian National Police officers in late January as part of its ongoing violence. Political insecurity following Moise's assassination has only furthered the declining security situation. The Haitian National Government's last democratically elected officials' terms expired in January, and new elections are postponed indefinitely.…”