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Al Jazeera
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Haiti death toll hits nearly 5,000 in nine months as gang violence spreads
The United Nations has appealed to the international community to bolster its support for Haiti after a report revealed that gang violence has claimed 4,864 lives from October to June. More than 20 percent of those deaths unfolded in the departments of Centre and Artibonite, indicating that intense violence is spilling into the areas surrounding the capital, Port-au-Prince. In a report released on Friday, the UN explained that the growing presence of gangs like Gran Grif in those areas appears to be part of a broader strategy to control key routes connecting the capital to Haiti's north and its border with the Dominican Republic. 'This expansion of gang territorial control poses a major risk of spreading violence and increasing transnational trafficking in arms and people,' the report said. Among its recommendations was for the international community to better police the sale of firearms to Haiti and to continue to offer support for a Kenya-led security mission aimed at strengthening Haiti's local law enforcement. In a statement, Ulrika Richardson, the UN's resident coordinator in Haiti, explained that propping up the country's beleaguered police force is key to restoring security. 'Human rights abuses outside Port-au-Prince are intensifying in areas of the country where the presence of the State is extremely limited,' she said. 'The international community must strengthen its support to the authorities, who bear the primary responsibility for protecting the Haitian population.' The report indicates that the violence in the regions surrounding Port-au-Prince took a turn for the worse in October, when a massacre was carried out in the town of Pont Sonde in the Artibonite department. The Gran Grif gang had set up a checkpoint at a crossroads there, but local vigilante groups were encouraging residents to bypass it, according to the UN. In an apparent act of retaliation, the gang launched an attack on Pont Sonde. The UN describes gang members as firing 'indiscriminately at houses' along the road to the checkpoint, killing at least 100 people and wounding 16. They also set 45 houses and 34 vehicles on fire. The chaos forced more than 6,270 people to flee Pont Sonde for their safety, contributing to an already dire crisis of internal displacement. The UN notes that, as of June, more than 92,300 people were displaced from the Artibonite department, and 147,000 from Centre — a 118-percent increase over that department's statistics from December. Overall, nearly 1.3 million people have been displaced throughout the country. The massacre at Pont Sondé prompted a backlash, with security forces briefly surging to the area. But that presence was not sustained, and Gran Grif has begun to reassert its control in recent months. Meanwhile, the report documents a wave of reprisal killings, as vigilante groups answered the gang's actions with violence of their own. Around December 11, for instance, the UN noted that the gangs killed more than 70 people near the town of Petite-Riviere de l'Artibonite, and vigilante groups killed 67 people, many of them assumed to be relatives or romantic partners of local gang members. Police units are also accused of committing 17 extrajudicial killings in that wave of violence, as they targeted suspected gang collaborators. The UN reports that new massacres have unfolded in the months since. In the Centre department, a border region where gangs operate trafficking networks, similar acts of retaliation have been reported as the gangs and vigilante groups clash for control of the roads. One instance the UN chronicles from March involved the police interception of a minibus driving from the city of Gonaives to Port-au-Prince. Officers allegedly found three firearms and 10,488 cartridges inside the bus, a fact which sparked concern and uproar among residents nearby. 'Enraged, members of the local population who witnessed the scene lynched to death, using stones, sticks, and machetes, two individuals: the driver and another man present in the vehicle,' the report said. Haiti has been grappling with an intense period of gang violence since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021. Criminal networks have used the resulting power vacuum to expand their presence and power, seizing control of as much as 90 percent of the capital. A transitional government council, meanwhile, has struggled to re-establish order amid controversies, tensions and leadership turnover. The council, however, has said it plans to hold its first presidential election in nearly a decade in 2026. Meanwhile, Volker Turk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, warned that civilians will continue to suffer as the cycle of violence continues. 'Caught in the middle of this unending horror story are the Haitian people, who are at the mercy of horrific violence by gangs and exposed to human rights violations from the security forces and abuses by the so-called 'self-defence' groups,' he said.
Miami Herald
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Haiti is as dangerous for children as Gaza, UN report shows
Violence against children in Haiti increased by nearly 500% last year, according to a United Nations report, ranking the Caribbean nation as dangerous a place for children war-torn Gaza, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia and Nigeria. The U.N.'s Children in Armed Conflict report, which was released late Thursday, singled out the country's most powerful armed gang coalition for the increasing wave of children being maimed, killed and raped as armed gangs carry out coordinated attacks across the capital and beyond. The staggering 490% increase between 2023 and 2024 in 'grave violations' is cited in the report, which added Haiti last year for the first time to its blacklist of countries that violate children's rights. Haiti now ranks third among countries that have seen the sharpest percentage increase in verified grave violations against children. The country ranked higher than Ukraine, which is actively in a war with Russia. The U.N. was able to verify 2,269 grave violations against 1,373 children in both the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince and the rice-growing Artibonite region. The violations included sexual violence, killings and attacks on schools and hospitals. The leading culprits behind the violations were armed gangs, most notably the powerful Viv Ansanm gang coalition, which for the first time has been cited in the report. In May, the Trump administration designated Viv Ansanm and another gang operating in the country's Artibonite region, Gran Grif, as foreign and global terrorists. The U.N. official said should Gran Grif continue to survive, it could also soon find itself listed due to the atrocities it has been carrying out against poor rural farmers and their families. The violations against children in Haiti are 'horrific,' a senior U.N. official said, stressing that the number of verified incidents is but the bare minimum —and not the maximum —of the horrors children are being subjected to. For example, rapes and sexual violence against children, particularly gang rape, saw a 35% increase globally in 2024. The inclusion of Haiti in the U.N.'s report came after lobbying that what was occurring inside the country was more than just mere gang violence. Already this year, more than 2,600 people have been killed in gang-related violence as gangs not only threaten the collapse of the capital, but extend their control to other regions. Still, independently verifying gangs' atrocities or even police operations isn't easy. 'Little information is coming out,' said the U.N. official, who noted they started the verification exercise in earnest last August. 'The U.N. has very little presence in there. The harbor doesn't work. The [main international] airport doesn't work. The border is closed. 'We simply cannot get the full impact of what is happening in Haiti, but we know it's horrific enough that it is already providing horrendous figures with the little information that we're able to get now,' the official added. Alarming figures globally Globally, the U.N. verified 41,370 incidents affecting some 22,495 children. The bulk of the incidents were committed in 2024 while about 5,149 were committed earlier but verified last year. Non-State armed groups were responsible for almost half of the violations, while government forces were the main perpetrator of the killing and maiming of children, attacks on schools and hospitals, and the denial of humanitarian access, the report said. The report's findings are the highest number of 'grave violations' against children since the United Nations started tracking violence against children almost 30 years ago. 'The cries of 22,495 innocent children who should be learning to read or play ball — but instead have been forced to learn how to survive gunfire and bombings— should keep all of us awake at night,' said the Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, in a statement. 'This must serve as a wake-up call,' she added. 'We are at the point of no return.' For the past year, U.N. officials have been sounding the alarm over Haiti's escalating armed gang violence, noting that children as young as 8 years old make up the ranks of criminal gangs and are being heavily recruited. Some are used as lookouts, while others are armed with matches and gasoline to set fire to homes and businesses during attacks. Others are armed with guns and told to fire shots. 'We ask that children may not be condemned to death' U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres in the report says he's deeply concerned by the grave violations. And while he welcomes the creation of a task force by Haiti's transitional authorities to implement a handover protocol on the transfer and reintegration of children allegedly associated with armed gangs, the report itself raises questions about how Haiti's transition government and police are addressing the crisis, especially as they turn to the use of mercenaries and weaponized drones to go after armed gangs and their leaders. The report notes that during the verification period, they were able to confirm the presence of only 26 boys who had been detained by the Haiti National Police for their alleged association with armed gangs, and they were being detained in a penitentiary where minors are held alongside adults under harsh conditions. Given the reporting on the scale of youth involved in gang activities, there are unanswered questions about how children, who are the heart of the conflict in Haiti, are being treated once found with weapons. 'All over the planet, we're seeing more and more, not just forced but also voluntary recruitment of under age boys and girls for lack of options, lack of possibilities, sometimes it's the only livelihood, joining an armed group. And so the chances are very high that any governmental or U.N. force engaged in some type of stability or peace action on the ground is going to be fighting children,' the senior U.N. official said. 'We ask that children may not be condemned to death,' the official added, saying children in Haiti are getting swept up in the violence as both victims and forced perpetrators. 'For us, everybody, zero to 18 is a victim.'
Miami Herald
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Designating Haiti's gangs as terrorists risks humanitarian aid
The Trump administration's decision to designate Haiti's most powerful armed gangs as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists may project strength. Still, it risks triggering a catastrophic humanitarian collapse just as the need for aid intensifies and international support is stretched thin. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the designations last week, targeting the Viv Ansanm coalition, which controls up to 90% of Port-au-Prince, and its ally, the Gran Grif gang in the Artibonite region. These gangs have undeniably unleashed terror: more than 1,600 Haitians were killed in the first three months of 2025, and over five million face acute hunger. But branding them as terrorists is a blunt instrument where a scalpel is needed. The implications go far beyond symbolism. Under U.S. law, providing 'material support' to designated groups becomes a federal crime, a broad definition that can include food, fuel or medical supplies. This could criminalize humanitarian workers who must negotiate access with gangs or pay tolls to deliver aid. Already operating under dangerous conditions, many aid groups may now pull out entirely — tightening the gangs' grip on neighborhoods and deepening the suffering of those trapped inside them. Broward U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, co-chair of the Haiti Caucus, warns the move could push Haiti further into isolation. Disrupting remittances and aid — economic lifelines for millions — would devastate a country already teetering on the edge. Haitian families rely on those funds for food, education, and survival. The gangs' dominance is not just a law enforcement issue; it's a symptom of institutional collapse. The Trump administration may view the designation as a show of resolve, but it lacks a strategic endgame, or even a path to prosecuting gang leaders. Without U.S. troops on the ground or a viable Kenyan-led force, what's the plan to dismantle these armed groups? There's also a critical deadline looming. In June, the contractor managing the U.S.-constructed base for nearly 1,000 Kenyan-led multinational troops needs assurance that the administration will continue the $200 million in funding. Without a firm commitment before the contract expires in September, the limited mission could withdraw this summer, leaving a dangerous power vacuum. In that case, gangs will operate unchecked, and more than a million displaced Haitians will be left to fend for themselves amid spiraling chaos. Experts warn the designation could also complicate future peace-building and gang demobilization efforts. It might even be used as justification for deporting Haitians from the U.S., including those tenuously linked to violence. State Rep. Dotie Joseph, a Haitian American leader, cautions that the terrorist label could be weaponized against Haitian immigrants, just as similar labels have been used against others, including Venezuelans targeted over tattoos or clothing. 'In practice, I am concerned that the administration may use such a designation as an additional tool to mistreat Haitian immigrants in the U.S.,' Joseph told the Editorial Board. The administration's next steps must include clear safeguards, guidance for aid groups and donors, and a strategy focused on weakening gang finances, not humanitarian access. The goal must be to choke off gang resources, not the flow of food and medicine. Labeling gangs as terrorists may play well politically, but the real cost could be paid in lives lost to hunger, disease and violence. Haiti doesn't need more punitive gestures. It needs protection, support and a coordinated international response. If the Trump administration won't back the U.N.-authorized Kenyan-led force, there must be a credible Plan B. Port-au-Prince is on the brink of state collapse. Declaring gangs as terrorists may feel decisive, but it won't stop the violence, and it could sever the last remaining lifelines for millions. This is a moment for nuanced diplomacy, not slogans. Haiti needs sustained, strategic engagement and a plan to dismantle the criminal networks Rubio himself says pose a threat to U.S. and regional interests. Haiti deserves better than an empty gesture dressed up as strategy. Click here to send the letter.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Haiti gangs' US terrorism designation risks harming most vulnerable, NGOs warn
By Sarah Morland and Harold Isaac PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - The designation of Haiti's major gangs as terrorists by Washington could risk further entrenching their power by limiting financial and humanitarian aid, NGOs focused on organized crime and human rights have warned. The United States last week designated Viv Ansanm, the armed alliance that controls most of capital Port-au-Prince, and Gran Grif, which operates in the breadbasket Artibonite region, as terrorist groups, following similar measures made recently for Latin American drug cartels. The designation is intended to isolate the groups, denying them access to financing from U.S. people or companies. "Terrorist designations play a critical role in our fight against these vicious groups and are an effective way to curtail support for their terrorist activities," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the time. Analysts at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime said on Thursday that the designation could, however, "inadvertently worsen the situation on the ground." It said the move could threaten the activities of some NGOs who engage with gangs to deliver aid to communities under gang control - potentially cutting off aid and making populations even more dependent on the armed groups. International businesses could also leave Haiti to avoid the risk of falling foul of U.S. law, it added. Haiti's Center for Analysis and Research for Human Rights earlier this week raised similar doubts, saying the move could hurt NGOs working with Haiti's most vulnerable in gang-controlled areas, already hit by frozen U.S. aid funding. "If drastic and appropriate measures are not taken to contain the root of the problem (such as) arms trafficking from the United States and across the Haitian-Dominican border, then gang members, most of whom are social victims, could become even more radicalized," it said in its report. An alliance of gangs has been using brutal tactics to grow its power since the 2021 assassination of Haiti's last president. Pierre Esperance, who heads Haiti's National Network for the Defense of Human Rights, said in an interview on Tuesday that his group had long considered the gangs as terrorists. "During 2024 they started setting people on fire while they were in their homes, they stopped them from running out and burnt them, rapes continued, kidnappings... These are terrorist acts," he said. In a recent report, Haiti-focused security adviser Halo Solutions Firm said while nuanced enforcement could cripple gang financing, "a policy that does not distinguish between corrupt enablers and extorted survivors will risk collapsing the commercial backbone of the country." Haiti's central bank on Wednesday warned lenders, exchange bureaus and payment services to be vigilant for exposure to operations financing terrorist groups. More than 1,600 people were killed in violent clashes in the first three months of this year while over 1 million are internally displaced, according to U.N. estimates, with local security services backed by limited international support.
Reuters
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Haiti gangs' US terrorism designation risks harming most vulnerable, NGOs warn
PORT-AU-PRINCE, May 8 (Reuters) - The designation of Haiti's major gangs as terrorists by Washington could risk further entrenching their power by limiting financial and humanitarian aid, NGOs focused on organized crime and human rights have warned. The United States last week designated Viv Ansanm, the armed alliance that controls most of capital Port-au-Prince, and Gran Grif, which operates in the breadbasket Artibonite region, as terrorist groups, following similar measures made recently for Latin American drug cartels. The designation is intended to isolate the groups, denying them access to financing from U.S. people or companies. "Terrorist designations play a critical role in our fight against these vicious groups and are an effective way to curtail support for their terrorist activities," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the time. Analysts at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime said on Thursday that the designation could, however, "inadvertently worsen the situation on the ground." It said the move could threaten the activities of some NGOs who engage with gangs to deliver aid to communities under gang control - potentially cutting off aid and making populations even more dependent on the armed groups. International businesses could also leave Haiti to avoid the risk of falling foul of U.S. law, it added. Haiti's Center for Analysis and Research for Human Rights earlier this week raised similar doubts, saying the move could hurt NGOs working with Haiti's most vulnerable in gang-controlled areas, already hit by frozen U.S. aid funding. "If drastic and appropriate measures are not taken to contain the root of the problem (such as) arms trafficking from the United States and across the Haitian-Dominican border, then gang members, most of whom are social victims, could become even more radicalized," it said in its report. An alliance of gangs has been using brutal tactics to grow its power since the 2021 assassination of Haiti's last president. Pierre Esperance, who heads Haiti's National Network for the Defense of Human Rights, said in an interview on Tuesday that his group had long considered the gangs as terrorists. "During 2024 they started setting people on fire while they were in their homes, they stopped them from running out and burnt them, rapes continued, kidnappings... These are terrorist acts," he said. In a recent report, Haiti-focused security adviser Halo Solutions Firm said while nuanced enforcement could cripple gang financing, "a policy that does not distinguish between corrupt enablers and extorted survivors will risk collapsing the commercial backbone of the country." Haiti's central bank on Wednesday warned lenders, exchange bureaus and payment services to be vigilant for exposure to operations financing terrorist groups. More than 1,600 people were killed in violent clashes in the first three months of this year while over 1 million are internally displaced, according to U.N. estimates, with local security services backed by limited international support.
