Critical Haiti gas terminal freed after weeks of talks with G9 gang leader – News – The New York Times
By James Petras, CNN
Wednesday, November 26, 2013
At a time when the U.S. and the international financial system are increasingly threatened by a global economic downturn and the consequences of a major banking crisis, Haiti’s economy is in shambles: the port area, the industrial heartland, is a disaster zone, with a growing list of ruined businesses and abandoned homes.
But there is a bright spot: a major industrial asset that could be brought back from the edge of collapse by a concerted effort from the international community: Haiti’s offshore gas terminal. If a deal can be struck, that gas terminal could be back in operation soon after the devastating earthquake hit in January.
The government of Jean-Minutes is talking with the G-9 gang leader of the powerful and secretive international gang of criminal gangsters. (G-9 is a gang of criminals that has links to the drug trafficking ring in New York and Washington called the “Triads.”) Now the U.S. is offering to open a new international airport in Haiti, which could be the anchor port for the proposed deal to bring back gas to Haiti. The U.S., which is holding a large military and economic stake in Haiti, says a deal is possible, and could be concluded within weeks.
At the moment, Haiti’s president, René Préval, is fighting to keep people from looting the port area. But he is at it for only a brief time, and eventually he and his security forces will be defeated by the chaos, hunger and desperation. Préval’s administration will have to find another way to keep this most important industrial asset from being destroyed.
But the international airport could be the key to the solution. With this deal, the international community could bring back Haiti’s gas terminal.
The only major obstacle in the way of a deal is the U.S. government’s unwillingness to hand over any control over a natural resource in its possession, even after decades of failed government