Haiti: Swindled Out of Potential Wealth

The island of Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, now looks to be home to one of the largest gold deposits in the Americas; the gold is a precious find for the nation with the metal suggesting potential wealth.

With estimates going as high as $20 billion worth of precious metals existing in the soil, foreign investors have already begun extrapolating the riches--begging the question, the gold is gold for whom? Two Haitian ministers recently signed a "memorandum of understanding," allowing select foreign investors to initiate drilling within the country. These surreptitious dealings are in direct violation of a Haitian law passed in 1976 which prohibits the act of drilling in the absence of a mining convention, a research, exploration or exploitation license. However, the mining by foreign companies continues at the expense of the local communities. Unfortunately, furtive foreign investment looms as a trending practice, suggesting further exploitation rather than prosperity for the Haitian people.