Port-au-Prince is burning again. Armed men have snatched Haiti's security chief, a key figure in the fragile transitional government. The British embassy has gone into lockdown. Whitehall is watching, nervously.
This is a classic power play. Who gains from this chaos? The gangs, of course. But also the political players who want to destabilise the transition. The security chief knew where the bodies were buried. Now he's a bargaining chip or a corpse.
The Foreign Office is tight-lipped. 'Consular support being offered,' they say. That's code for 'we're terrified'. Britain has a small presence in Haiti. Mostly aid workers and diplomats. They are now bunkered down.
This abduction is a message. To the international community. To the UN. To anyone trying to impose order on Haiti's chaos. It says: we are in control. The streets belong to the gangs.
The timing is brutal. Just as the transitional council was finding its feet. Now its security chief is gone. Expect more defections. More violence. The next few weeks will be bloody.
Inside the Foreign Office, there is panic. Not public panic. But the quiet kind. The kind that leads to late-night calls and urgent reviews. They are asking: do we have the resources to protect our people? The answer is no.
The Caribbean is a powder keg. Haiti is the fuse. And this kidnapping is a lit match.
What happens next? Either the security chief is released in a deal. Or he is killed. Either way, the gangs win. They have shown they can reach the top. No one is safe.
For Britain, this is a wake-up call. Our embassy is vulnerable. Our people are exposed. The policy of 'engagement' looks foolish now. Hard questions will be asked in Parliament.
The situation is fluid. I am hearing that the US is considering a rescue operation. But that would be a disaster. More guns. More bodies. No solution.
The only certainty is more of the same. Haiti is a black hole. It consumes everything. And now it has consumed another official.
Stay safe out there.
Eleanor Rigby, Political Bureau Chief
