Gang violence has plunged Haiti, a Caribbean nation with a long history of upheaval, into one of its worst periods of chaos. Attacks on prisons have set thousands of inmates free. Gunfire at the airport in Port-au-Prince, the capital, has forced the suspension of flights. Homes have been ransacked.

The country’s embattled prime minister, Ariel Henry, has been stranded for days in Puerto Rico as the gang takeover has made it impossible for him to return. Mr. Henry had traveled to Kenya last week to make final arrangements for the East African country to deploy 1,000 police officers in a U.N.-sanctioned mission to quell the violence.

But the deepening chaos is raising doubts about whether the plan can move forward. The Biden administration is increasing pressure on Mr. Henry to establish what Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, called “a presidential transitional council that will lead to elections.”

Below, Haitians showing they do not have weapons as the police in Port-au-Prince confronted gang members last week.

A man cried out near a person killed outside a Port-au-Prince police station on Tuesday.

Port-au-Prince was put under a state of emergency on Thursday as police and gangs continued to clash.

Jimmy Chérizier seen in Port-au-Prince this week, has become the public face of a newly formed gang alliance.

An inmate helping another prisoner inside the national penitentiary in Port-au-Prince on Sunday. Hundreds of inmates fled Haiti’s main prison after armed gangs stormed the facility.

Demonstrations against Mr. Henry in Port-au-Prince last week.

A soldier guarding the airport in Port-au-Prince on Monday after the military and the police exchanged gunfire with gangs.

Damaged vehicles in Port-au-Prince after protests against the government last week.

Residents fleeing their homes during clashes between the police and gang members in the Portail neighborhood of Port-au-Prince last week.

A woman walking through Portail after the clashes.