Former Delmas Deputy Mayor Ernst Erilus has denounced the ongoing extortion of the people of Cité Soleil by the men of former gang leader Dread Wilme. According to Erilus, there are at least nine hostages in the hands of the Cité Soleil bandits, who are headed by a certain Alain Cadet, alias Pinochet, who has replaced Dread Wilme. Erilus urges the PNH (Haitian National Police) to carry out systematic searches of wheelbarrows and similar things which transport goods from Cité Soleil and the airport area. According to Erilus, the bandits often force wheelbarrow owners to transport their weapons in order to prevent them from being caught by the police or MINUSTAH (UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti) soldiers. He also asks government officials and MINUSTAH to carry out more operations in Cité Soleil to resolve the problem. Erilus:
“The bandits have kidnapped a lot of people on the airport road. I would encourage the police to search wheelbarrows when they see them, because the bandits put their weapons in the back of the wheelbarrows and, once the person pulling the wheelbarrow passes the police station, the bandits get the weapons and go to operate on the airport road. They also get other vendors, people selling bread and boiled eggs at the intersection of the Airport and Delmas Roads, to carry or hide their 9-mm rifles for them. I do not think the authorities should allow this situation to continue. MINUSTAH needs to be more vigilant.
When I talk to police officials they say that all operations should be carried out together with MINUSTAH. I think that middle-class people and the bourgeoisie should rise up in order to get this situation dealt with. For instance, these men are threatening the industrial park again. Dread Wilme was killed but the fight is not over, because the men who fled the area after Dread Wilme’s death are back again. There are a lot of other men from Solino who have come to this area now. I am sure that if the forces of order carry out more operations, they will get these men. The situation should not go on like this. I think that there is a duty to protect the people. This is the reason why I am committed to the fight by at least giving critical information. But I do not have the means to go and drive these bandits out. It is the duty of MINUSTAH and the police to dismantle these gangs.
People in Cité Soleil will need to take part in the elections, too. They need to register and are ready to do so. But with the presence of this small group of bandits they are unable to do so. Actually, the bandits are holding at least nine people hostage. Recently, somebody handed over 30,000 dollars and they released him. Things are not at all right in the country. The prime minister needs to move a lot faster. The presidency needs to take action, too, by ensuring that the people are secure.
Following Dread Wilme’s death, a certain Alain Cadet, alias Pinochet, heads the gang, but Cadet is a coward. The gang members’ names are Alain, Belony, Ti Fredy, Ti Sony, Kofi, Ti Ge and so on. The other day, they went to Kafou Divivier to shoot a man called Jonas. I would like to ask the people of Divivier to do as the people of the Terre Noire area did, to stand up against these bandits by blocking their way to prevent them from entering this area. The bandits once kidnapped a director of the Kola Couronne Company and we went to Terre Noire and released the victim. So, the Divivier people should not allow the bandits to access Wout Nef (New Road). They should block the road to these bandits. They should arrest these bandits and hand them over to the police.