For more than four months, Haitians have been taking to the streets to demand the resignation of President Jovenel Moïse amid allegations he embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars of government funds earmarked for badly needed social programs.
A damning report on government corruption, delivered to the Haitian senate by official auditors on May 31, has triggered fresh demonstrations, with thousands marching through the capital, Port au Prince, and other cities throughout June. On June 20, a delegation from the Organization of American States traveled to Haiti in hopes of “[lowering] the political temperature,” an official told the Miami Herald.
One government program, PetroCaribe, is at the center of the 600-page report––and protesters’ anger.
Under PetroCaribe, a strategic oil alliance signed with nearby Venezuela in 2006, Haiti––the poorest country in the Americas––saved precious dollars by borrowing fuel from its oil-rich neighbor and deferring payment for up to 25 years. Gov..