Haiti swears in a new leader as gangs shoot at a flight landing in the main airport

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haiti’s international airport shut down temporarily on Monday after gangs opened fire at a Spirit Airlines flight landing in Port-Au-Prince, the U.S. State Department and the airline said. The latest violence came as a new prime minister was sworn in.

The flight, headed from Fort Lauderdale to Port-Au-Prince, was hit multiple times by gunfire as it was set to land in Haiti’s capital, striking a flight attendant, who suffered minor injuries. Photos and videos obtained by The Associated Press show bullet holes dotting the interior of a plane.

The flight was diverted and landed in the Dominican Republic, according to Spirit Airlines. It appeared to be part of what the U.S. Embassy called “gang-led efforts to block travel to and from Port-au-Prince which may include armed violence, and disruptions to roads, ports, and airports.”

In other parts of Haiti’s capital, firefights between gangs and police broke out. Rounds of gunfire echoed through the streets as heavily armed officers ducking behind walls and civilians ran in terror. In other upper class areas, gangs set fire to homes. Schools closed as panic spread in a number of areas.

The turmoil comes a day after a council meant to reestablish democratic order in the Caribbean nation fired the interim prime minister Garry Conille, replacing him with businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aimé. The council has been marked by infighting and three members were recently accused of corruption.

On Monday, suit-clad diplomats and security officials flocked to the swearing in ceremony, set to take place in the afternoon.

The country has seen weeks of political chaos, which observers warned could result in even more violence in a place where bloodshed has become the new normal. The country’s slate of gangs have long capitalized on political turmoil to make power grabs, shutting down airports, shipping ports and stirring chaos.

The transitional council was established in April, tasked with choosing Haiti’s next prime minister and Cabinet with the hope that it would help quell violence, which exploded after Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in 2021.

The council was meant to pave the way to democratic elections, which haven’t been held in years in Haiti. Gangs have capitalized on that power vacuum to make their own power grabs.

But the council has been plagued with politics and infighting, and has long been at odds with Garry Conille, the interim prime minister they hand picked six months ago, who they fired yesterday.

Organizations including the Organization of American States tried and failed last week to mediate disagreements in an attempt to save the fragile transition.