More than 150 people have been killed over the past week in escalating violence across Haiti’s capital, with the United Nations reporting on Monday, November 18, 2024 that the bloodshed has forced over 20,000 residents to flee their homes.
Criminal gangs and vigilante reprisals have further plunged Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas, including the affluent suburb of Pétion-Ville, into chaos, paralyzing critical infrastructure and intensifying the country’s humanitarian crisis.
The violence marks a sharp escalation in Haiti’s ongoing problems, with armed gangs attacking hotels, political figures, and parts of the capital that had previously been spared. According to local reports, police and vigilante groups have joined forces in retaliation, lynching at least 28 suspected gang members in Pétion-Ville. Witnesses described mutilated and burned bodies left in the streets as a warning to others.
Gang leader Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier, a former police officer, has emerged as one of the most powerful figures in Haiti. Chérizier has threatened to attack hotels suspected of sheltering politicians and demanded the resignation of the nine-member Transitional Presidential Council, the body tasked with governing the country since President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination in 2021.
Maria Isabel Salvador, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), says that gang violence is rapidly spreading into parts of Port-au-Prince that were once regarded as relatively safe.
The violence comes amid political turmoil following the council’s abrupt dismissal of Prime Minister Garry Conille earlier this month. Businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aimé replaced Conille, though critics argue that Haiti’s government remains largely powerless against the influence of the gangs.
Haiti’s descent into lawlessness has drawn international concern. The United Nations Security Council has proposed expanding a multinational security mission assisting Haitian police into a formal U.N. peacekeeping force, but China and Russia have opposed the plan.
The crisis has its roots in years of political instability and economic devastation, exacerbated by the 2010 earthquake that displaced more than a million people and left critical infrastructure in ruins. In the absence of strong governance, younger, more violent gangs have risen to prominence, seeking to consolidate control through fear and force.
Despite the dire situation, some residents have taken matters into their own hands. In Pétion-Ville, locals have banded together with police to reclaim their neighborhoods. However, such actions have added to the brutality gripping the country, raising concerns about vigilantism and human rights abuses.
Diplomats warn that Haiti risks further destabilization without coordinated action, with devastating consequences for the region.
For now, Port-au-Prince remains a city under siege, its people caught between criminal gangs, vigilante justice, and a government struggling to maintain control.
