They control the country’s infrastructure, from police stations to seaports. They have driven hundreds of thousands of people out of the capital. They are suspected of involvement in the 2021 assassination of Haiti’s president.
Western diplomats and officials say the influence and capabilities of many Haitian gangs are growing, making them an increasing threat to Haiti. Kenya-led multinational police force Deployed to Haiti soon after, a fragile transitional council also sought to pave the way for elections.
with their arrival Only a few days leftSecurity experts say the 2,500 police officers will face a gang force that is better equipped, funded, trained and unified than any previous mission deployed to the Caribbean country.
Some gangs that once relied heavily on Haiti’s political and business elite for funding have found an independent financial lifeline since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise and the ensuing collapse of the country.
“These criminal gangs make money through kidnapping and extortion and through paying bribes to politicians and business elites during elections,” said William O’Neill, a U.N.-appointed human rights expert on Haiti.
“But these gangs are now more autonomous and don’t need old-school financial support,” he added. “They created a Frankenstein that was beyond anyone’s control.”
Two Justice Department officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence assessments, said the arsenal helping the gangs is more powerful than anything they had before. Since February, some gangs have acquired automatic weapons — either stolen from regional militaries or converted from semiautomatic rifles, the officials said.
The gangs have also changed their public posture, posting videos of themselves on social media in which they act like militias with national ambitions and less concern for their usual turf wars.
Some of Haiti’s gangs began working together last September, announcing the formation of an alliance called “Vivre Ensemble,” or “Living Together,” just days after the incident. Dominican Republic closes land borders with Haiti.
Two Western diplomats focused on Haiti said the idea was to unite the gangs and overcome the obstacles posed by border closures to their drug-smuggling operations. said two Western diplomats who were not authorized to speak publicly.
But diplomats said the alliance collapsed about a week after it was announced after about 2,000 tons of cocaine was stolen from Haitian gang leader Johnson Andre, also known as Izzo.
Izzo’s 5 Segonn gang (“Five Seconds” in Creole) is considered the country’s largest cocaine trafficker, with much of its product shipped directly to Europe, according to diplomats.
In late February, Vivre Ensemble was resurrected. The gangs have publicly vowed to overthrow the country’s prime minister and vowed to resist once Kenyan-led security forces are deployed, calling the forces “invaders.”
Days later, the Union attacked two prisons, Release approximately 4,600 prisoners, many of whom joined them. The chaos forced Haiti’s prime minister, who was abroad, to resign.
Haitian officials said the fugitives included Dimitri Hérard, the head of security who protected the presidential palace before Moïse was assassinated.Mr Ellard ordered his troops to retreat Mercenaries attacked Mr Moïse’s home. When he escaped and was released, he was in jail awaiting trial on charges related to the assassination.
According to a senior regional intelligence official and two Western diplomats, Herard is now helping organize and advise Izzo’s gang and may provide links to larger criminal organizations in the region, including drug cartels.
Mr. Eral could not be reached for comment.
Haitian gangs also appear to be using weapons used by the Colombian drug cartel Gulf Cartel. The group operates along Haiti’s Caribbean coast and uses neighboring countries to traffic cocaine. Colombian President Gustavo Petro said last month that thousands of military-style weapons had been stolen and sold to armed groups such as drug cartels, with some possibly making their way to Haiti.
Authorities have also linked another powerful gang leader, Vitel’homme Innocent, to Moïse’s murder. He rented a car used in the killing of Moïse, according to a Haitian police report.
Mr. Ellard was also the prime suspect in one of the largest cases pursued by the Drug Enforcement Administration in Haiti. 2015, MV Manzanares cargo ship More than 1,000 kilograms of cocaine and heroin were hidden in bags of sugar anchored in Port-au-Prince.
At the time, Michel Martelly was Haiti’s president and Mr. Hérard was a senior member of Haiti’s presidential security forces.Mr Ellard Seen by multiple witnesses Members of the Presidential Guard were ordered at the port to transport the drugs from the ship to police cars.
Most of the drugs in the case were gone. Keith McNichols, a former Drug Enforcement Administration official who worked on the case, said witnesses were intimidated by Haitian government officials, including police officer Jimmy Chérizier.
Mr. Chérizier, also known as Barbecue, is now one of Haiti’s most powerful gang leaders and a key member of the Vivre Ensemble alliance.
“These gangs are increasingly linked to drug trafficking,” said the United Nations’ Mr. O’Neill. “Given that some former police officers like Herard were involved in the drug trade when Martelly came to power, I wouldn’t be surprised if these gangs now try to court these former security officials.”
More recently, officials familiar with negotiations over the appointment of Haiti’s new prime minister said Martelly has been lobbying Caribbean leaders and his political allies in an attempt to influence the composition of the interim government.
His allies on the transition council have quietly floated a suggestion that the gangs should be granted immunity, officials said, possibly as part of broader immunity for former government officials who may be accused of corruption.
“I categorically deny these baseless accusations of active interference with the transitional council,” Martelli said in a statement to The New York Times, calling them politically motivated. “I have never had anything to do with gangs or any mention of amnesty for anyone.”
The government of Mr Martelly, who was president from 2011 to 2016 Accused of rampant corruptionincluding misappropriation of value approx. $2 billion from Venezuela. 2022, Canada imposes sanctions on him and other Haitian politicians Protect and empower local gangs, “including through money laundering and other corrupt practices”.
“If the Haitian people are not consulted, the idea of an amnesty could add fuel to the fire because politicians are unable to unite at this moment,” said Romain LeCour, a Haiti security analyst at the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime. These gangs have committed serious human rights violations and a crisis has occurred. “
Report contributors: Christian Tribert, Andre Poulter, John Ismay, Adam Entus, Julian E.Barnes and David C. Adams.
