How destruction of Hotel Oloffson is symbol of Haiti’s gang crisis

The Oloffson hotel’s design was one of the most famous of the gothic gingerbread style. It became a landmark in Portau-Prince, Haiti. Photograph: Jenny Matthews/Alamy

There was an outpouring of grief in Haiti when the Hotel Oloffson, a cultural and architectural landmark in Port-au-Prince, was set ablaze on the night of 5 July, in what local media described as retaliation by armed gangs after a police operation in its vicinity.

For many, its ruins are a stark and sobering symbol of the state of a capital city on the verge of collapse, and a sign that a once vibrant culture may be fading as violent criminal armed groups continue their reign of terror.