Comment on Is Haiti’s massive Darbonne sugar factory about to be revived? by Rachel Dauphin

['Daniella Saint-Louis', 'More Daniella Saint-Louis', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar'] Comments for The Haitian Times 2025-09-09 00:00:00

LÉOGÂNE, Haiti — The rusting gates and weed-filled courtyards of the Jean Léopold Dominique Sugar Factory stand as a monument to Haiti’s industrial decline. Known locally as the Darbonne Sugar Factory, the once-bustling sugar mill complex— situated about 21 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince— has been shuttered since 2015, devastating sugarcane farmers, distillers and vendors across Léogâne and beyond. The main entrance to the Jean Leopold Dominique Sugar Factory in Darbonne, Leogane, as seen on June 27, 2025. The country’s largest sugar factory, the Haitian-American Sugar Company (HASCO), closed in 1987. “The fall of Darbonne [sugar factory] is the story of Haiti’s economy — disinvestment, mismanagement, and dependency,” Frantz Charles, an agricultural economist, said.