(C) Center for Economic & Policy Research This story was originally published by Center for Economic & Policy Research and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Haitians Don’t Need More “Dumbasses” From the US State Department Weighing In on the Crisis [1] ['James North', 'Aina Marzia', 'Elie Mystal', 'James K. Galbraith', 'Joan Walsh', 'Andrea Mazzarino', 'Mari Uyehara', 'Tariq Kenney-Shawa', 'Francis Wade', 'Priti Gulati Cox'] Date: 2024-03-26 09:00:00+00:00 World / Haitians Don’t Need More “Dumbasses” From the US State Department Weighing In on the Crisis The solutions offered by current and former American officials rarely, if ever, consider what Haitians actually want. The Haitian flag is held up during a demonstration in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on March 12, 2024. (Photo by Guerinault Louis / Anadolu via Getty Images) Former US ambassador to Haiti Pamela White recently gave a shocking interview to Fox News that ignited a firestorm among Haitians. Her remarks highlighted the disastrous American policy toward the country that many Haitians and others believe contributed greatly to the surge in gang violence there. And yet, this point of view is nowhere to be found in the mainstream media’s lurid accounts of the armed rebels seeking to overthrow the Haitian government. Haitians and Haitian-Americans exploded with anger over White’s suggestion that the US State Department should include two notoriously violent figures, Guy Philippe and Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier, in the ongoing American-sponsored negotiations for a transitional government. Even more jaw-dropping was that she revealed a distressing familiarity with both men; she said in the March 16 interview that she had spoken to Philippe on the phone “yesterday,” and she referred to Chérizier as “Jimmy C.” These two are not ordinary politicians. Philippe was part of the illegal US-backed effort that overthrew elected president Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004; more recently, he added to his criminal résumé with six years in US federal prison for his involvement in drug trafficking. “Jimmy C” is the boss of one of the most dangerous gangs in Haiti, a vicious band that is guilty of multiple massacres in poor Port-au-Prince neighborhoods. Haitians see White’s apparent coziness with these sinister figures as more proof that the State Department has long propped up a series of corrupt and violent men, while completely ignoring courageous Haitian mass movements to promote democracy and end impunity for the criminals. In fact, another former US envoy to Haiti, Dan Foote, was so disgusted by US policy that he resigned on principle in September 2021. The mainstream media is jumping on the latest Haiti crisis—CNN even helicoptered a crew into Port-au-Prince—but reporters aren’t saying anything about the failed US policy. Instead, American coverage is relying on violence pornography: “gang members with machetes are on the march”; endless video loops of bonfires and street chaos. The US media is simply assuming that the State Department’s effort to broker a solution is neutral and benevolent. In Haiti, the US ambassador is not an anonymous, obscure figure. Politically conscious Haitians—a big percentage of the population, especially in the capital—can name whoever occupies the post, and they include the envoy’s views and personal preferences in their analysis. During White’s tenure (2012–15), Haitians criticized her for being too close to then-President Michel Martelly, the singer turned politician who was already suspected (rightly) of massive corruption. Jake Johnston, a senior researcher at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C., spent years investigating the catastrophic American policy in Haiti. His new book, Aid State, is an indispensable and sharply written indictment. He points out that Haitians dismissed White as “Pamela Pink”; Martelly’s political party used that color as its theme. He includes a revealing portrait of White’s behavior during a key 2015 debate in Haiti’s Parliament. He watched on a video livestream as she personally walked around Parliament trying to persuade lawmakers to support one of Martelly’s political positions. He says, “It’s the equivalent of seeing, say, the Chinese ambassador on the floor of the US House of Representatives, lobbying members of Congress.” [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.thenation.com/article/world/haitians-state-department-crisis/ Published and (C) by Center for Economic & Policy Research Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons 4.0 Int'l.. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/cepr/