The commander of the MINUSTAH, U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti, military forces urges the bandits to lay down their arms and turn themselves in to Haitian authorities. Gen Augusto Heleno Ribeiro Pereira announces that the operations will continue in the lawless zones of the capital. The MINUSTAH commander is pleased with the operations that led to the killing of gang leader Dread Wilme (Emmanuel Wilme). General Heleno:
“We carried out an operation to show that the forces of order are powerful and that we have the means to impose the law, and to let the bandits know that they will have to change their ways and to seek a new life. They need to lay down their arms and cooperate with us in order to help Haiti find a new direction. It is impossible for a country to be in such a situation. Actually, it is not the country as a whole that is in this situation. It is some areas of Port-au-Prince that are affected by these criminal acts. So, these people must know that the forces of order are powerful, that we have the means and the will to impose the rule of law. We are going to work on this until we change the situation in Cite Soleil, Bel-Air, and all the areas where the bandits wish to impose their way of life.”
Rotchild Francois: “General Heleno, we know that Dread Wilme is not there any longer. But his people have had the time to reorganize because they have already designated a new leader. So, they are in fact getting organized in Cite Soleil. What would you say about that?”
“Rotchild, this is a phenomenon that happens in a lot of countries. This kind of thing happens in my country all the time. One gang leader is killed and is replaced by somebody else. The bandits are always recruiting new members. It is not easy at all to eliminate all the bandits. But the operations will continue. However, I want to insist on something that I always say. We will carry out operations, exert pressure, kill and arrest bandits. But at the same time, something will have to be done to make the people in Cite Soleil understand the intention of MINUSTAH, of the peacekeeping force, and the Haitian Government. We cannot just only carry out operations to kill people, to injure, and arrest people.”
Francois: “Should we expect similar operations to be carried out in the Bel-Air area too?”
Heleno: “We have already carried out some major operations in Bel-Air as well. We will pursue our operations especially to try to recover the confidence of the people of Port-au-Prince so that they can stop living in a state of generalized panic. We do not understand why this is so but we have to respect that and work hard to put an end to this feeling of insecurity that dominates the people of Port-au-Prince.”