Enter the United States . If we help people enter legally, then its not a business. Geoff regional leaders meet to discuss the crisis in haiti as armed gangs expand their control moving the beleaguered nation closer to the brink of collapse. And a look at the bureaucratic burdens preventing some families living below the poverty line from accessing government aid. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by. The ongoing support of these individuals and institutions, and friends of the newshour, including leonard and norma klorfine, and the judy and Peter Blum Kovler foundation. Actually, you dont need vision to do most things in life. Yes, im legally blind, and yes, im responsible for the user interface. Data visualization. If i can see it and understand it quickly, anyone can. It is exciting to be part of a team driving the technology forward. I think thats the most rewarding thing. People who know, know bdo. Two retiring executives give these former race dogs a real chance to win. A raymondjames Financial Advisor gets to know you, your purpose, and the way you plan to give back. Life well planned. The william and flora hewlett foundation, for more than 50 years advancing ideas and supporting instituations to promote a better world. At hewlett. Org. And with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Stephanie here are the latest headlines. Former President Trump is moving to delay another criminal trial, this one involving hush money payments to an adult film actress. His lawyers as the judge to delay the trial while they await a u. S. Supreme court ruling on immunity. They say mr. Trumps statements in 2018 about michael cohen, his former attorney, are covered by may not be admissible due to rules. The muslim holy month of ramadan began today, with no end in sight to the war in gaza. Instead, more relief supplies were airdropped into the region, where the desperation has deepened as hunger spreads. Meantime, a spanish ship remained in cyprus waiting for a maritime corridor to deliver food to palestinians. And in new york, the u. N. Secretarygeneral called on both israel and hamas to stop fighting. My strongest appeal today is to honor the spirit of ramadan by silencing the guns and removing all obstacles to ensure the delivery of lifesaving aid at the speed and massive scale required. Stephanie gazan Health Officials say at least 25 people, mostly children, have died from malnutrition and dehydration in recent days. At least 11 people were killed in yemen and 14 others injured tonight following airstrikes by a u. S. British coalition. According to a Yemeni Government government official. There defending commercial shipping in the region. It comes days after a who the missile attack killed three people aboard a cargo ship. The u. S. Pledged an additional 100 Million Dollars to help deploy a Multinational Force to haiti. Gang violence has overrun the country. Secretary of state Antony Blinken also announced humanitarian aid. New jersey senator bob menendez and his wife plead not guilty today to new obstruction of justice charges. The veteran democrat return to federal court in new york to enter his plea. Hes already facing bribery and corruption charges in an 18count indictment. The couple allegedly took cash and gifts from three businessmen in return for help on projects they supported. The secretary of housing and urban development, marcia fudge, will step down on march 22. The former ohio congresswoman is reportedly wanting to spend more time with her aging mother. President biden praised fudge for her vision, passion, and a focus on economic opportunity. In britain, a social media storm erupted today over a picture of kate, the princess of wales, and her children. It was her First Official photo since Abdominal Surgery in january, but it turned out to be altered. In an online posting, the princess said, quote, like many amateur photographers, i do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion. Buckingham Palace declined to release the unedited photograph. Last nights oscar ceremony hit a four year viewership high, drawing in 19. 5 million viewers. Oppenheimer was the big winner, including awards for best picture and best director, christopher nolan. The ukraine war film 20 days in mariupol won best documentary. Still to come on the newshour ranchers struggle to recover after devastating wildfires in texas; tamara keith and amy walter break down the latest political headlines; and the First American woman to race a sailboat solo around the world discusses her historic trip. This is the pbs newshour from weta studios in washington, and in the west, from the Walter Cronkite school of journalism at Arizona State university. Geoff secretary of state Antony Blinken made a lastminute trip to jamaica today for an emergency meeting of caribbean leaders to discuss the spiraling security and humanitarian crises in haiti. The group is looking to develop a leadership transition in haiti as Gang Violence rages and the population there suffers. Heres nick schifrin. And a note of caution some images in this story are disturbing. Nick in haitis capital, the gangs are in control. They besiege portauprinces airport, where workers risk their lives just to cross the street. Prison cells are unlocked and unguarded, emptied by gangs of thousands of inmates. The dead are left to rot. The city smells of bodies. Its too dangerous to retrieve them. The lucky are only shot in the leg. Gangs have seized 80 of portauprince. The gangs came with big guns. We have no guns and we cannot defend ourselves. All of us are suffering. Nick haiti is no stranger to Gang Violence. But, this time, gangs are trying to overthrow an absent government. Woman welcome dr. The honorable ariel henry, Prime Minister of the republic of haiti. Nick Prime Minister ariel henry has been abroad at a regional summit in guyana, and then kenya to secure the deployment of International Police to haiti that he requested. We did this appeal, and you step up. Nick but, by then, gangs closed the airport, and his plane landed in puerto rico, where he is still stuck. Prominent gang leader jimmy cherizier, widely known as barbecue, says henry has to go. We will fight ariel henry until our last drop of blood, until he resigns. If the International Community continues to support ariel henry, they will lead us into civil war. Nick today, secretary of state Antony Blinken met with caribbean leaders in jamaica to announce 100 million support for the Multinational Police force and for a transitional president ial council. Leadership at a critical moment, a critical moment for haiti, but also a critical moment for all of us. Nick there is no agreement yet on the councils makeup, but it would likely require henry to resign, as reiterated today by haiti caucus cochair florida democrat sheila cherfilusmccormick. We have given him ample opportunities to have a Transitional Government. It has been 1. 5 years and he has stalemated this process. Nick henry assumed power in july 2021, after the assassination of former president jovenel moise. Last month, a judge indicted moises widow, martine, for conspiring to kill her husband and replace him with herself. She was indicted alongside former Prime Minister claude joseph. It helped push haiti to todays breaking point, after years of poverty and violence. This weekend, the u. S. Military boosted security around its embassy and evacuated nonessential staff. And, today, the European Union announced it will evacuate all of its staff from haiti in response to, quote, dramatic security deterioration. for more on haiti, we are joined by robert fatton, professor of government and Foreign Affairs at the university of virginia. Robert fatton, thank you very much. Welcome to the newshour. how critical is the crisis that haiti faces today . Robert its critical. I mean, haiti is essentially on life support now. The gangs have essentially controlled the capital city, portauprince. They are controlling not only the main arteries leading to the capital city, but they have attacked the jails, they have attacked the airport, they have attacked the ministries, and they even attacked the national palace. So its a really critical moment in the history of modern haiti. Nick and they have actually closed the airport so the Prime Minister cant return. As we said, secretary blinkens in jamaica today talking to regional leaders and calling for an independent what theyre calling president ial college to transition away from ariel henry. How realistic is that . Robert this is going to be difficult, because you have many different political factions in haiti that have proposed essentially that solution, to have a college where the presidency would rotate. The only problem is that those parties in haiti do not agree on the composition of the party. And the big problem is obviously, what do you do with the bandits or the gangs . Are they going to be part of the negotiations . Are they going to be excluded from any potential Transitional Government . Thats the big question. And its very clear that, in haiti now, the police is incapable of keeping order for long. Its also very clear that any type of government that were to come in the next 48 hours or so would have to deal with the gangs, and they dont have the means to deal with it. So the question is whether the mission that was approved by the United Nations is gog to arrive on time in haiti, that is to say, the kenyan troops, the Kenyan Police officers that were supposed to arrive in haiti, whether they are going to arrive and whether they are going to be there on time, because the situation is deteriorating as we speak. Nick the gang leader, barbecue, has said publicly that the violence, at least the latest round of violence, will stop if henry steps down. That perhaps is a shortterm solution, but is that the medium or even longterm solution . Robert it may be a shortterm solution, but one has to doubt that the simple absence of ariel henry is going to resolve the problem in haiti. And its not even clear that ariel henry is the problem at the moment. And the gangs may change their mind, because they are very close to getting the national palace. And if they were to get to the national palace, they may install someone whos not of the liking of most of the groups in haiti itself, let alone the International Community. Nick you mentioned the Multinational Force that kenya would lead. There is a debate among experts of haiti, as you know, about whether those Police Officers could actually quell the violence. Do you believe they can . Robert its going to be very difficult for them. Youre talking only about 1,000 Police Officers. They dont speak the language. They speak english. Apparently, some of them have learned french, but that is not going to be the language that they are going to have to speak confronting the gangs and going into the slums. So its going to be very difficult. On the other hand, we dont really know how powerful are the gangs in terms of their capacity to inflict punishment on a wellarmed force. That will have to be found out. The other problem is, obviously, that the terrain itself is very complicated, because you need to go to the slums, but you need also to protect the airport, the national palace. You need to protect the main arteries. So this is going to be an exceedingly difficult issue to be resolved. And 1,000 Police Officers may not be enough. We will have to wait and see, if they come, that is. Nick the u. S. Has backed ariel henry for years, including after the assassination of jovenel moise. And now the u. S. Is calling for a transfer of power. What credibility does the u. S. Have right now in haiti . Robert well, whether haitians like it or not, the u. S. Is the main elephant in the room. Ariel henry has been kind of humiliated, because hes not even allowed to go back to haiti, as you know. And, to some extent, the situation of ariel henry reminds us of Henry Kissingers dictum that you can be, that to be an enemy of the United States is very dangerous, but to be a friend of the United States can be fatal. And i think that ariel henry is finding himself in that situation, although he may have a last card to play. But all signs point to his resignation, whether its voluntary or forced. Nick robert fatton, thank you very much. Robert thank you. Geoff we turn now to the migrant crisis thats gripping parts of the southern u. S. , but has much wider implications. Heres amna nawaz. Amna geoff, a senior u. S. Official tells us amid a global migration surge that the trafficking industry is booming. Its now a multibilliondollar business, and thats led to unprecedented trends at the u. S. Southern border. But much of that begins here, 1,500 miles away, in chiapas, mexico. As day turns tonight, the city of tapachula transforms, and the streets of this southern mexican hub fill with families from around the world. Over the last three years, tapachula, just a few miles from guatemala, has become a global crossroads on the migrant path north. Nelson, originally from haiti, just arrived here in january with his wife and 1yearold daughter. 98 of haitians that come through here want to go to the United States. The reason im planning to stay here is because im thinking about my family, a Better Future for my children, because, in my country, there is no future. Amna he left haiti in 2012, spent years in chile, and now hopes to call mexico home, unlike, he says, most migrants who pass through. This is the easiest route to get to the United States. Thats why there are so many migrants here from around the world. Amna of the 195 recognized nations in the world, mexican authorities have logged migrants from 120 of them coming across their southern border. And those who pay smugglers are passed from handler to handler along the way, often staying in local hotels like these. The u. S. Or no . But any attempt to speak with them but youre from kazakstan . You dont want to speak to us . Is shortlived. So this is part of the problem were running into again and again here, is, a lot of people who are from countries that are not latin american countries, from russia, from india, a couple of guys i just met from kazakstan, theyre staying in these hotels, here but they have basically been told by the smugglers who are moving them not to talk to anyone. Smugglers like mario. Thats not his real name, and we agreed to protect his identity, for fear of cartel retribution. But this former Bank Executive has worked in the Human TraffickingNetwork Since 2020. Most people will look at what you do and say that you are a smuggler, you are a trafficker. How do you describe what you do . At the beginning, yes, i felt like a criminal. But as people have gotten to know me and now with my clients, i identify as someone who makes other peoples dreams come true. Amna dreams come true. What kind of dreams . I consider myself a facilitator of opportunities. Amna he says he charges anywhere from 7,500 to 21,000 per person. The tougher and longer the journey, from china or india, for example, the higher the cost. Local mexican officials and cartels take their cuts along the way. He claims he has a nearly 100 success rate getting people into the United States. Newshour has no way to verify that claim. Without exaggerating, in the time that i have been working with this group, we have moved 50,000 people. Amna in the last twoandahalf years, you think you have moved 50,000 people, your entire network you work with . Yes. And i think its probably more. Amna this River Crossing is one of the paths mario uses to move people into mexico. In this stretch of the suchiate river, people and goods regularly move back and forth between guatemala and mexico. But what we cant show you, out of security concerns, is an area just beyond the bridge behind me and another area about 100 yards ahead. Those are completely in control of the Human Trafficking networks. Theyre smuggling people from as far away as congo, india and china. But not everyone makes it. Mario concedes this is a business and admits he has held migrants hostage until they paid what they agreed to, but he claims hes never physically harmed anyone. But you know that many more people have been assaulted and have been treated badly and many more dont make it. And youre participating in a system that keeps making sure that people continue on these pathways. And i have thought about it, but its out of my hands, and i cant help them. If they want to travel in a safe and secure way, they should have money. Amna there are legal ways for people to enter the United States, and youre essentially helping them to get around the laws. Why do it that way . Why not help people to legally enter the United States . If we help