MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Gang violence taking turn for the worse in Haiti

Gangs control about 80% of Port-au-Price

The already critical situation in Haiti has been reported to have taken a turn for the worse this week as gangs up their grip in the Caribbean country, threatening government officials and seeking to expand their influence to the areas they still do not control, the United Nation’s Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) warned Tuesday. “The situation in Haiti has regrettably worsened,” BINUH Chief Maria Isabel Salvador said in a briefing to the UN Security Council in which she mentioned mounting attacks over the past week. Over 5 million people are estimated to be going hungry, with thousands already facing famine.

In this scenario, local and multinational law enforcement troops seem to be outpowered and “under-resourced” as violence is “spreading terror and fear, overwhelming the national security apparatus,” Salvador noted. Rifts between Haiti's prime minister and the presidential council are further eroding public trust, she also pointed out.

Prime Minister Garry Conille said on Monday he had ordered several hundred VIP protection police and soldiers deployed to combat zones as authorities sought to prevent gangs from seizing control of Port-au-Prince. Conille held an emergency meeting Monday to discuss the attacks in Solino and other neighborhoods. “We will not cede strategic neighborhoods such as Solino and other recently liberated areas. The security of our citizens is non-negotiable,” he wrote on X. Conille and other Cabinet officials received “consistent and persistent” unspecified threats Tuesday, according to the Justice Ministry.

People displaced from their homes by the gangs moved into already crowded makeshift shelters while others sought refuge at a school, a church, and a health center, it was also reported. Gangs controlling 80% of Port-au-Prince also have threatened journalists covering the most recent attacks, calling them out by name and ordering that they be killed.

The rebel gang Viv Ansanm, which means “Living Together,” was formed in September 2023, creating a coalition between former enemy gang federations to topple former Prime Minister Ariel Henry and fight the UN-backed mission led by Kenyan police. After the coalition was formed, armed clashes between gangs fell by 78%.