Alfred Metellus, the Minister of Economy and Finance, revealed on a radio station in the capital that the racketeering system imposed by gangs on freight transporters and other vehicles through a vast network of clandestine toll booths, implemented since 2021, was generating, according to his estimates, between 60 and 100 million US dollars per year for the bandits.

This income provides them with financial independence and allows them to purchase weapons and ammunition.

In addition to extortion on all vehicles for several years, the bandits have targeted containers, demanding up to 2,000 US dollars per container for the right to travel without being attacked. Faced with the choice between losing their lives or their goods, the transporters choose, under threat, to pay the bandits.

TB/ iciHaiti