The lower part of Port-au-Prince and its surroundings symbolize a capital city in decline. Both central and local authorities have lost control over the historic center of the Haitian capital. This process, which did not begin yesterday, reached its peak on February 29, 2024, when gangs that dictate the law in the metropolitan area decided to attack everything that symbolizes the state. The downtown area, still scarred by the earthquake of January 12, 2010, has been unable to withstand the onslaught of these gangs.

Nevertheless, downtown refuses to fade away. The new authorities—including the Transitional Presidential Council (CPT), the Conille government, and the new commander of the Haitian National Police (PNH), supported by Kenyan police—deserve credit for choosing not to abandon the downtown area to its fate. We remember Prime Minister Garry Conille's first visit to the city center, as well as the swearing-in ceremony of CPT members at the National Palace last March, accompanied by the sound of gunfire from neighboring gangs.