English: On February 10, 2019 NASA’s Terra satellite flew over the island of Hispaniola, allowing the Moderate Resolution Imaging Resolution Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board to acquire a true-color image of Haiti. Haiti occupies the western one-third of Hispaniola and on the Dominican Republic sits in the east. In this image, the skies are clear over Haiti and clouds cover the Dominican Republic.

Slightly smaller than the state of Maryland, Haiti is the most mountainous nation in the Caribbean. Once a very rich agricultural region, the country remains largely rural but suffers from significant deforestation as well as early exploitation of agricultural resources in colonial times (1600s-1700s). Political instability and corruption has led to severe poverty, despite the beauty and natural resources of the country. The World Bank has reported that about 59% of Haiti’s population live below the national poverty line of $2.41 a day, with 24% living in “extreme” poverty on less than $1.23 a day. Haiti was struck by a major earthquake in 2010 and by Hurricane Matthew in 2016, and still feels the impact of both of these natural disasters, as well as rocketing inflation. With the economic and social stresses on this beautiful nation, social protest and unrest are not uncommon.

Since February, 2019, anti-government and anti-corruption protests in Port-au-Prince and other areas have escalated to full-blown riots, with vehicles burned in the streets and transportation for non-natives attempting to leave the country made difficult by both the protesters and police barricades. As protesters demand that President Jovenel Moise step down, at least nine people have been reported dead and many more injured.

This true-color image shows vegetation as green and open land as various shades of brown and tan. Water appears blue. The man-made structures of Port-au-Prince, situated on Port-au-Prince Bay east of Gonave Island, appear gray.