Armed gangs attack international airport and free over 3,800 prisoners in seemingly coordinated effort to oust Ariel Henry

• Haiti crisis: how did it get so bad, what is the role of gangs, and is there a way out?

The future of Haiti’s government appeared increasingly uncertain on Monday, after armed gangs attacked the country’s international airport and freed more than 3,800 prisoners this weekend in what appears to be a coordinated effort to topple the prime minister, Ariel Henry.

Haitian officials declared a three-day state of emergency and imposed a nightly curfew in an effort to calm the growing unrest but national police are outgunned, and senior officials – including Henry, who is also acting president – are outside the country.

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Haiti has declared a three-day state of emergency and a night-time curfew after armed gangs stormed the country’s two biggest jails, allowing more than 3,000 dangerous criminals, including murderers and kidnappers, to escape back on to the streets of the poor and violence-racked Caribbean nation.

The finance minister, Patrick Boisvert – who is in charge while the embattled prime minister, Ariel Henry, is abroad trying to salvage support for a UN-backed security force to stabilise Haiti – said police would use “all legal means at their disposal” to recapture the prisoners and enforce the curfew.