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Conflict in Haiti and the Venezuelan Connection
We received an email from a leader of a Christian ministry in Haiti. The main message concerned the death of a child of one of the Haitian pastors, but I thought that some here would appreciate the general news regarding Haiti and its connection to Venezuela which I have not seen covered in the news.
Published in Foreign PolicyAs has been mentioned by Pastor Daniel, life has been very difficult in Haiti this last month. Frustration with government officials has been brewing. The main reason for the conflict in Haiti was the participation in the Venezuelan oil-purchasing program Petrocaribe.
Haiti bought oil from Venezuela paying only 60% of the purchase price and financed the rest for 1% interest over 25 years. The debt has grown over 2 billion dollars. The government controls the sale of oil and was supposed to use the profits for social and development projects, infrastructure and agricultural projects. It is presumed that the money was misused, misappropriated, or embezzled by the powerful and rich.
The value of the Haitian dollar has fallen as fast as an avalanche making even the most basic products too expensive for the very poor. Last month these concerns came to a culmination as masses took to the streets to make their voice heard demanding their president step down from office. The masses on the streets made it unsafe for most people to leave their homes for work or to purchase basic needs. Many mission teams went home early or cancelled their plans to travel to Haiti.
As we pray for the leaders of our country, let’s also unite with our friends in Haiti and pray for their leaders to bring peace, justice and stability. God will heal our land as he has promised in 2 Chronicles 7:14.
Thank you for this update on Haiti. It is interesting how many things ripple from the Venezuela crisis and also the crisis in Nicarauga (darn, can’t spell it) as you can hear on the most recent Q & A. I recommend it. I will add that Jay Nordlinger has been good (in his recent Q & A podcasts) with keeping his anti-Trump feeling out of it and/or being neutral. It was a pain to listen to him carp about Trump – especially in podcasts that had nothing or little to do with him.
Things sound pretty bad.
This is why I can never get behind libertarian isolationism. One nation influences another nation. I kinda wish they didn’t but we don’t live in that world.
This Venezualan thing has made me a bit more conservative than I was before. It’s much easier to screw something up than get something to work. And man, you can screw things up quickly. It’s a damn tragedy how one affair or one leader can trash decades of hard work.
Am I reading this right?
Thanks for the link to the CBN article. I should follow them more closely.
Apparently, what money has come in was gobbled up by the kleptocracy. The breakdown of the oil supply has brought things to a rapid end. That’s my take. The email from my missionary friend was not meant to be an exhaustive description of the problem.
In the present global economy, it seems that the USA can hardly remain truly isolationist. One might say that Obamacare is an example of “screw(ing) things up quickly”. The realization of how rapidly things can go awry is what leads to the feeling that the next election is always the most important in history.
Thanks, and understood. Haiti has had 200 years of corruption and bad luck. I’d love to see them do better, but it’s one damned thing after another for those people.
Every country has had bad luck and good luck. If you have the right culture and the right policies you get ahead. If not, all the luck in the world doesn’t matter. I understand that their French colonialists weren’t great and that the slavery they suffered under was an abomination. But the biggest reason that Haiti is poor is because of what Haiti does.
Our church has strong ties to the ‘Children of the Promise’ orphanage in Haiti, and our mission trip scheduled for this coming week has been postponed, and might be cancelled. Sounds like a desperate situation. But when you’re dealing with a dysfunctional country like this, what can you do?
Let’s not forget that the Clinton’s helped steal billions of dollars meant for Haiti.
A few years ago, my son went to Haiti with a Catholic mission to be their photographer. He took many wonderful photographs, but this is my favorite. Haiti seems to be the country that gets kicked again and again. It is so sad, and it’s hard to fathom why we can’t be more help.
Send in the Marines to clean things up?
That has been tried before.
So very sad. A couple I know, both of whom are doctors, work on occasion as missionaries at a Haitian hospital. Those poor people. I don’t know what will fix this.
An interesting idea, if you’re serious. How might that work this time?
It is a very sad story of how corrupt heavy handed governments aided by “humanitarian” organizations rape another country for personal gain and fortune.
Speaking of corrupt as Don G points out:
“Let’s not forget that the Clinton’s helped steal billions of dollars meant for Haiti. “
Then there is the case of Klaus Eberwein from Mac Slavo at Zerohedge:
Haiti Official Who Exposed The Clinton Foundation Is Found Dead
“The circumstances surrounding Eberwein’s death are also nothing less than unpalatable. According to Miami-Dade’s medical examiner records supervisor, the official cause of death is “gunshot to the head.“ Eberwein’s death has been registered as “suicide” by the government. But not long before his death, he acknowledged that his life was in danger because he was outspoken on the criminal activities of the Clinton Foundation.
Eberwein was a fierce critic of the Clinton Foundation’s activities in the Caribbean island, where he served as director general of the government’s economic development agency, Fonds d’assistance économique et social, for three years. “The Clinton Foundation, they are criminals, they are thieves, they are liars, they are a disgrace,” Eberwein said at a protest outside the Clinton Foundation headquarters in Manhattan last year. Eberwein was due to appear on Tuesday before the Haitian Senate Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission where he was widely expected to testify that the Clinton Foundation misappropriated Haiti earthquake donations from international donors. But this “suicide” gets even more disturbing…
Eberwein was only 50-years-old and reportedly told acquaintances he feared for his life because of his fierce criticism of the Clinton Foundation. His close friends and business partners were taken aback by the idea he may have committed suicide. “It’s really shocking,” said friend Gilbert Bailly. “We grew up together; he was like family.”
During and after his government tenure, Eberwein faced allegations of fraud and corruption on how the agency he headed administered funds. Among the issues was FAES’ oversight of the shoddy construction of several schools built after Haiti’s devastating Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake. But, according to Eberwein, it was the Clinton Foundation who was deeply in the wrong – and he intended to testify and prove it on Tuesday.
What is also disturbing about this story is that if you google this story the top -highest or near highest 3 responses will be like this one:
Fake story ties dead Haitian official to Clinton Foundation allegations …
I don’t know how it could be fake. Eberwein was found dead in a Miami hotel room and he did harshly criticize the Clintons. Those are facts.