Events in the year

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

. Haiti still had no president, no parliamentary quorum, and a dysfunctional high court due to a lack of judges, with another news report of violent uprisings across the country, realizing they were sent by the gangs while the other families and neighbors escape from a burning capital Port-au-Prince. The government invoked a

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

across Haiti in an effort to contain

gang violence A gang is a group or society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collecti ...

. The police and the military are forced to withdraw from their posts when their bases and police stations throughout Haiti are destroyed by more gangs who had also planted weapons in the area to provoke participation. Haiti is effectively destroyed by

violence Violence is characterized as the use of physical force by humans to cause harm to other living beings, or property, such as pain, injury, disablement, death, damage and destruction. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence a ...

that no longer controls the island country after its long history of

natural disasters A natural disaster is the very harmful impact on a society or community brought by natural phenomenon or Hazard#Natural hazard, hazard. Some examples of natural hazards include avalanches, droughts, earthquakes, floods, heat waves, landslides ...

and political chaos, more than three million Haitian migrants sailed to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

as refugees, and black civilians in Haiti are rallying to fight back against gang corruption.

Incumbents

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Ariel Henry Ariel Henry (; born 6 November 1949) is a Haitian neurosurgeon and politician who served as the acting Prime Minister of Haiti, prime minister of Haiti from Assassination of Jovenel Moïse, the assassination of Jovenel Moïse in 2021 until his r ...

(acting) *

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

(acting)

Events

Ongoing – COVID-19 pandemic in Haiti; 2018–2023 Haitian crisis * 26 January – Ten police officers are killed, one is critically injured and another is missing during a series of attacks in

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...

, by the Gan Grif gang. * 1 February – Jamaican Prime Minister

Andrew Holness Andrew Michael Holness, (born 22 July 1972) is a Jamaican politician who has served as Prime Minister of Jamaica since 3 March 2016, having previously served from 2011 to 2012, and as Leader of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) since 2011. Ho ...

says that his

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

is willing to send

troops A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a Squadron (cavalry), squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section (military unit), section or platoon. Exception ...

as part of a "multinational security assistance deployment". * 16 February –

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

announces that it will deploy

navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

vessels to Haiti for intelligence-gathering amid a worsening security situation in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

country. * 21 March – The

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

reports that 187 people have been killed in a wave of violence in Haiti in the past eleven days during clashes between

gang A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Wiktionary:territory#Noun, territory in a ...

s. Since the beginning of the year, 531 people have been murdered in the country. * 23 March –

Assassination of Jovenel Moïse Jovenel Moïse, the 43rd president of Haiti, was assassinated on 7 July 2021 at 1:00 am EDT (UTC−04:00) at his residence in Port-au-Prince. A group of 28 foreign mercenaries, mostly from Colombia, are alleged to be responsible for the ki ...

: A dual Haitian-Chilean citizen pleads guilty to three

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

-related charges in a court in the United States over his role in the

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

of Haitian president

Jovenel Moïse Jovenel Moïse (; ; 26 June 1968 – 7 July 2021) was a Haitian politician and Businessperson, businessman who served as President of Haiti from 2017 until Assassination of Jovenel Moïse, his assassination in 2021. Moïse assumed the preside ...

. *28 July – The

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democr ...

orders

government personnel and their families to leave Haiti, citing "kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and poor health care infrastructure" in the country. *2 October – The

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

approves a resolution establishing a

Kenyan The Demographics of Kenya is monitored by the Kenyan National Bureau of Statistics. Kenya is a multi-ethnic state in East Africa. Its total population was at 47,558,296 as of the 2019 census. A national census was conducted in 1999, although t ...

-led

security force Security forces are statutory organizations with internal security mandates. In the legal context of several countries, the term has variously denoted police and military units working in concert, or the role of irregular military and paramilitar ...

with a mandate of one year to combat gang violence in Haiti. *9 October – A court in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

blocks the government from deploying police personnel to Haiti. *27 October – A retired Colombian army officer who participated in the 2021 assassination of Haitian president

is sentenced to life in a court in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. *16 November – The

Parliament of Kenya The Parliament of Kenya is the bicameral legislature of Kenya. It is based at Parliament Buildings in Nairobi and consists of two houses. The upper house is the Senate, and the lower house is the National Assembly. See also * Politics of K ...

approves the deployment of its police officers to Haiti as part of a

-backed multinational security mission to combat the

gang war in Haiti Since 2020, Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince has been the site of an ongoing gang war. The government of Haiti and Haitian security forces have struggled to maintain their control of Port-au-Prince amid this conflict, with gangs reportedly control ...

. *22 December –

: A former Colombian

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

, Mario Antonio Palacios Palacios, pleads guilty to

conspiring A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

in the

of Haitian

. * Scheduled * 2023 Haitian constitutional referendum

Holidays

* January 1 –

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

and Independence Day, celebrating 217 years since the signing of the

Haitian Declaration of Independence The Haitian Declaration of Independence () was proclaimed on 1 January 1804 in the port city of Gonaïves by Jean-Jacques Dessalines, marking the end of 13-year long Haitian Revolution. The declaration marked Haiti becoming the first independent ...

. * January 2 – Ancestry Day, honors those who fought for independence. * February 16 –

Haitian Carnival Haitian Carnival (, ) is a celebration held over several weeks each year leading up to Mardi Gras. ''Haitian Defile Kanaval'' is the Haitian Creole name of the main annual Mardi Gras carnival held in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The parade is known ...

and

Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ; also known as Shrove Tuesday) is the final day of Carnival (also known as Shrovetide or Fastelavn); it thus falls on the day before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday. is French for "Fat Tuesday", referring to it being ...

. * October 17 –

Dessalines Dessalines (; ) usually referred to as ''Marchand-Dessalines'' (), is a commune in the Artibonite department of Haiti. It is named after Jean-Jacques Dessalines, a leader of the Haitian Revolution and the first ruler and emperor of independen ...

Day, commemorating 215 years since the death of Haiti's first leader. * November 1–2 —

All Saints' Day All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the Church, whether they are know ...

and

All Souls' Day All Souls' Day, also called The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, is a day of prayer and remembrance for the faithful departed, observed by Christians on 2 November. In Western Christianity, including Roman Catholicism and certain p ...

are celebrated in both the Christian and

Haitian Vodou Haitian Vodou () is an African diasporic religions, African diasporic religion that developed in Haiti between the 16th and 19th centuries. It arose through a process of syncretism between several traditional religions of West Africa, West and ...

religion.

Deaths

* 4 August –

Boniface Alexandre Boniface Alexandre (; 31 July 1936 – 4 August 2023) was a Haitian politician. Alexandre served as the provisional president of Haiti following the 2004 coup d'état that removed President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from office. He served until Ma ...

, politician, acting president (2004–2006) (born 1970)

References

{{Caribbean topic, 2023 in 2020s in Haiti Years of the 21st century in Haiti