August 15, 2024

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Recurrent Gang Violence Proving a Difficult Cycle to Break in Haiti

AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph

Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, has been overtaken by gangs, particularly since the first quarter of 2024. Haiti’s current state is dire; the international airport is closed, prisoners have been unlawfully released, police departments are being burned, and educational and medical campuses are being razed. This situation has been ongoing for years; in late 2023, the UN National Security Council authorized the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission to Haiti, which was partially deployed in June 2024; the mission was designed to support the Haitian police force in training, operations, and regaining control of the capital. In response to the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission’s presence, many of the gangs have started pushing outwards of the capital, gaining new territory, as the MSS mission struggles to maintain newly gained control over some areas of the capital.

A few weeks ago, interim Prime Minister Garry Conille was conducting an interview with CNN when they were forced to take cover due to gunfire. Shortly after, gangs attacked a school for deaf children on the outskirts of Port-Au-Prince, which was then followed by a “400 Mawozo gang” attack in Ganthier, which killed at least two and received an inconclusive, delayed response from the MSS mission. If Ganthier falls to gang control, there will only be two more cities to overtake before the gangs dominate a stretch of land from the capital to the Dominican border, which is porous and would allow easier access to the illegal arms trade.

The lawless state of the capital, now spreading to other areas of the country, has led over 3 million people to flee out of fear for their lives as of April 2024, a number which has likely only increased since. While many resorted to mass emigration, most recently resulting in the death of 40 migrants in a boat fire off the coast of Haiti on July 19, others have fled to more rural areas of the country, creating food insecurity for over half of Haiti’s population. With mass displacement within the country, there has been a severe uptick in acute hunger as well as health crises, most notably, a recent spike in cholera cases at the beginning of this year. The Port-au-Prince healthcare system is currently collapsing, with the hospitals being assaulted and claimed by gangs while medical professionals flee their posts. This not only increases the mortality of gang violence, as it prohibits those with gunshot wounds from accessing healthcare, but it also places Port-au-Prince’s next generation at risk, as pregnant women are unable to receive medical support through their pregnancies and childbirths. One of the last functioning healthcare properties, The Higgins Brothers Surgicenter for Hope, located about seven miles outside Ganthier, just encouraged their staff to relocate for their safety, deepening the lack of healthcare access.

Haiti’s future hangs in the balance as the decomposition of the capital places Haitian children at an especially vulnerable intersection. Cholera poses a more severe danger to children, and many are at risk of malnutrition. Port-au-Prince’s children are growing up in an increasingly destabilized nation. Using the instability to its advantage, gangs have increased child recruitment and membership. UNICEF reports that child membership makes up about half the gangs’ overall population. These numbers point to a younger generation’s bleak view of the future for Port-au-Prince and highlight the need to prioritize reintegration under Conille’s leadership.

A former police officer and internationally sanctioned criminal, Jimmy Cherizier, leads the largest alliance of gangs in Haiti, the G9 Family and Allies. 400 Mawozo is part of GPep, G9’s historic rival, though the two teamed up to push society towards ousting former Prime Minister Ariel Henry. On July 25, there were unconfirmed reports along with social media videos circulating of G9 and GPep coming to a new peaceful compromise in Cite Soleil, a commune in Port-au-Prince. If true, this compromise has already deteriorated, evidenced by the shots fired during and after interim Prime Minister Conille’s CNN interview, as well as new outbreaks of gang violence in various Port-au-Prince neighborhoods. This is in line with past gang alliance peace pacts; there was a prior truce brokered in July 2023, which splintered less than a month later.

Organized crime and gang activity are not new to Haiti; these ills have appeared multiple times throughout the country’s history, and politicians relied on gangs in the past to maintain their political posts. However, gangs are now operating independently of the political system, using extortion, small arms smuggling, kidnappings for ransom, drug trafficking, rape and sexual violence, looting, and mass murder to control the capital and fund their activities. The resulting power vacuum has created potential for Russian and Chinese influence to spread into the Caribbean. Similar power vacuums and governance gaps in the Sahel have allowed the proliferation of Russian and Chinese influence, including through private military companies.

Garry Conille has been appointed as interim prime minister of Haiti to form a transitional government and restore a peaceful society with democratic elections by February 2026. Three members of the Presidential Transition Council have been accused of corruption, which is not unusual for countries in such situations; they are currently under review by an anti-corruption government agency and claim to be innocent. Conille has already begun working to rally international support for Haiti, visiting Washington, D.C., at the beginning of July and meeting with the 400 MSS soldiers recently deployed to Haiti. However, the MSS mission, functioning outside of the traditional UN peacekeeping framework, is struggling to raise the necessary funds for the mission to be successful.

The MSS deployment sparks multiple concerns for those familiar with prior UN peacekeeping interventions in the country as well as Kenya’s police force, both known for excessive violence and sexual abuse. To combat this, the mission was designed to support the Haitian national police force, as evident in its name; the joint work aims to lower the chances of civilian mistreatment.

The U.S. has provided $369 million in financial backing for the MSS mission, but this support addresses the symptoms, rather than the root causes, of the issues in Haiti. The U.S. illegal arms market provides the majority of the weapons in Haiti, as arms trafficking is prolific via Floridian shipping routes. Southern states with weaker gun laws create an environment wherein acquiring multiple small arms to be trafficked is easy. Additionally, shipping is a less monitored form of trade, which allows many smuggled crates to pass through official trade channels without being discovered; similar events occur with small, private aircraft flying directly from southern U.S. states to Haiti. The U.S. support for the MSS mission, while playing a role in the illegal arms trade, drug trafficking, and corrupt political history in Haiti, creates a sense of conflicting U.S. priorities for Haitian citizens.

The MSS mission has made early progress, but it still lacks funding, soldiers, ships, aerial support, and adequately weaponized vehicles, proving land operations difficult. The future of Haiti is uncertain, currently leaning towards anarchy, but with the potential to transition back to civilized society with Conille at the helm.