Harrowing Massacre Underscores Depth of Gang Control in Haiti

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Reports of a chilling massacre in Haiti highlight the depth of criminal control in the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, where a largely absent state has left citizens exposed to depraved gang attacks.

More than 100 mostly elderly people were murdered between December 6 and 7 by a gang operating in the Cité Soleil neighborhood, one of the capital’s poorest, according to Haiti’s government and human rights groups. Gang members shot or stabbed victims to death with machetes and knives, and burned bodies in the streets, according to a statement released by the National Human Rights Defense Network (Réseau National de Défense des Droits Humains – RNDDH).

The gang’s leader reportedly ordered the slaughter after being told that elderly people in the area were practicing witchcraft to harm his young son, who had fallen ill. He subsequently died on December 7, according to the RNDDH.

Details of the killings are still emerging, and InSight Crime could not independently verify the RNDDH’s account.

Estimates of the death toll varied significantly – a common occurrence in Haiti, where gang-controlled areas are often inaccessible to outside observers. A senior United Nations human rights officer said the gang attack had claimed at least 184 lives, but the origin of that figure was not immediately clear.

The Haitian government condemned the massacre, vowing to “eradicate” the criminal groups responsible for what it called a “barbaric act of indescribable cruelty.”

SEE ALSO:Haiti Gangs Push For Power Amid Political Chaos

The group behind the massacre, known as Wharf Jérémie, is one among a hodgepodge of armed gangs that have tightened their grip on Port-au-Prince in recent years, overwhelming the government and terrorizing local communities. Though the gang controls strategic territory near a commercial shipping port, it does not rank among the country’s most violent groups.

The spread of Haiti’s gangs has coincided with the unification of rival gang factions, which now operate as a criminal coalition dubbed Viv Ansanm (Living Together). The coalition has launched a series of brazen attacks in 2024 on communities and critical infrastructure in Port-au-Prince and elsewhere.

Over 5,000 people have been killed in Haiti this year alone, according to the UN.

InSight Crime Analysis The murders in Cité Soleil point to the undisputed social control enjoyed by criminal actors in some of Haiti’s poorest areas, where even secondary criminal players can commit abominable acts of violence against often defenseless civilians.

The gangs face little to no state resistance in major strongholds, allowing them to dictate daily life and target residents with routine violence. Since the most recent massacre, the Wharf Jérémie gang has mounted an informal siege in the area and imposed tight restrictions on movements, according to the RNDDH.

“The killing of at least 110 people by the Wharf Jérémie gang on 6 and 7 December is a stark reminder of how fragile the situation remains in Cité Soleil and in Haiti,” said Sandra Pellegrini, Latin America Regional Specialist for ACLED (Armed Conflict Location and Event Data).

SEE ALSO:Haiti’s Disorganized Organized Crime Strategy

In October, a separate gang known as Gran Grif gunned down at least 70 people – and possibly dozens more – during a killing spree in the department of Artibonite, directly north of Port-au-Prince.

Both Haiti’s government and the international community have struggled to get a handle on the situation. The country’s fragile police are ill-equipped to challenge the gangs. Meanwhile, a Kenyan-led multinational security force sent to police the gangs has stumbled amid shortages in staff and funding.

Haiti has called for the UN to transform the Kenyan-led force into a fully-fledged peacekeeping mission as a means of securing more robust funding. The United States and other members of the Organization of American States (OAS) have also backed the Haitian government’s request.

Featured Image: A soldier stands on a street in Haiti, where gang violence has exploded in recent years. Credit: Reuters.

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Harrowing Massacre Underscores Depth of Gang Control in Haiti

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