Port-au-Prince, Thursday, April 30, 2026 – The Collective of Haitian Customs Officers (CDH) has broken its silence to show support for striking agents of the General Administration of Customs (AGD) and to denounce the approach of the Directorate General, which requested the intervention of the Haitian National Police (PNH) after tensions erupted at the international airport customs office on April 27.
In a statement released this Wednesday, the CDH rejects the Directorate General’s version, which mentioned a “group of individuals pretending to be protesters.” According to the organization, they were in fact genuine customs agents, wearing their institutional badges, who had come to demand several months of salary arrears.
The collective believes that resorting to law enforcement against striking employees constitutes an attempt to criminalize a legitimate social movement. It accuses the administration of favoring repression over dialogue and resolving wage demands.
The CDH also states that its media absence in recent weeks is explained by repeated threats targeting several of its leaders and their loved ones. Faced with this climate of intimidation, some officials have voluntarily reduced their public exposure for security reasons.
Despite this temporary withdrawal, the collective assures that it has never abandoned its positions. It recalls having continued to denounce, particularly on social networks, several sensitive files affecting the AGD, including payment delays, the blocking of the recruitment of 80 customs agents, and the controversial case of a shipment of spoiled rice that allegedly was put on the market despite internal alerts.
Five Demands Addressed to the State
At the heart of its statement, the Collective of Haitian Customs Officers formulates five major demands towards the Directorate General of the AGD and the competent authorities:
Immediate and full payment of all salary arrears owed to customs workers; the cessation of any disciplinary or legal proceedings against striking agents; the opening of an independent investigation into the distribution of spoiled rice and sanctions against those responsible; an end to threats and pressure against CDH members and leaders; the resumption of the recruitment process for the 80 customs agents, launched the previous year with the support of the Office of Management and Human Resources.
This new statement illustrates the rising tensions within the General Administration of Customs, a strategic institution for Haitian public finances. The CDH concludes by recalling that customs agents deserve “respect, security, and remuneration,” believing that no intimidation can silence their demands.
Contractual employees have been denouncing several months of unpaid wages for several weeks and are demanding the immediate payment of their salary arrears, in an increasingly tense social context within the institution.
In a public notice, these workers state that they have received no payment since October 2025, despite the renewal of their contracts in August of the same year and the transmission of their files to the relevant administrative authorities. They explain that this situation severely undermines their living conditions and those of their families.
The contract workers are also demanding the regularization of their professional status and denounce administrative delays, particularly the blocking of certain appointments. They also point to decisions deemed unfair regarding recruitment and benefits granted within the AGD.
Faced with this crisis, the employees had issued an urgent appeal to state authorities, in particular to Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Superior Court of Accounts and Administrative Litigation, and the Office of the Citizen Protector.
By Marie Farah Fortuné and Darbouze Figaro
