PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Like many in Haiti’s Artibonite region, the 26-year-old woman once viewed the Coalition as protectors.
A powerful group of murky origins, one of many of this country’s “self-defense brigades,” the Coalition emerged three years ago to fight back against the criminals who were preying on communities such as hers. As a U.S.-backed, U.N.-authorized force attempts to restore security here, some of the brigades have enjoyed support from Haiti’s interim leaders.
