Haiti’s government declared a 72-hour state of emergency on Sunday after armed groups attacked a large prison in Port-au-Prince.
At least 12 people died in the escape, and about 3,700 prisoners escaped.
Gang leaders say they want to force the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who is travelling abroad.
The group calling for his ouster controls about 80% of Port-au-Prince.
Thousands of people have been killed in violent gang wars across the country since 2020.
Two prisons were attacked over the weekend, one in the capital and one in nearby Croix-des-Bouquets, a government statement said.
Acts of “insubordination” pose a threat to national security, and in response, an immediate curfew will be imposed from 8 pm local time (1 pm Monday, Japan time).
Haitian media reported that other police stations were also attacked, distracting authorities from the coordinated attack on the prison.
Those detained in Port-au-Prince included gang members charged in connection with the 2021 assassination of President Jouvenel Moïse.
The recent surge in violence began on Thursday when the prime minister visited Nairobi to discuss the deployment of Kenya-led multinational security forces to Haiti.
Gang leader Jimmy Sheridier (nicknamed “Barbeque”) announces a coordinated attack to eliminate him.
“We are all united, both the armed groups in the provincial cities and the armed groups in the capital,” said a former police officer believed to be behind several massacres in Port-au-Prince.
Haiti country overviewHaitian police The union had called on the military to help strengthen the capital’s main prison, but the site was hit by a storm late Saturday.
Reuters reported that the prison doors were still open on Sunday and there were no staff in sight.
According to reports, three prisoners who tried to escape died in the garden.
An AFP reporter who visited the prison saw about 10 bodies, some with signs of gunshot wounds.
A prison volunteer told Reuters that 99 prisoners, including a former Colombian military officer imprisoned for the assassination of President Moïse, had decided to remain in their cells for fear of being killed in a gunfight.
The U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince on Sunday called on its citizens to leave Haiti “as soon as possible.”
The French embassy announced it would no longer accept visas as a “precautionary measure”.