Police report prison break in central Haiti amid gunfire and smoke

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Police in Haiti say inmates have broken out of a prison in the central coastal town of Saint-Marc as authorities in the country struggle to quell ongoing gang violence. Le Nouvelliste newspaper said officials at the prison went on strike to demand better treatment, and it quoted government commissioner Vension François as saying he feared a “mutiny.” That suggested guards may have been complicit in Friday’s prison break. But the report did not elaborate. Local officials could not be immediately reached. Gunfire was heard near the prison, and videos posted on social media show smoke and fire billowing from it. It wasn’t immediately clear how many prisoners escaped or how many inmates the prison held at the time.