Since 2020, Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince has been the site of an ongoing armed conflict between rival gangs and the state. The government of Haiti and national security forces have struggled to maintain their control of Port-au-Prince amid this conflict, with gangs speculated to control up to 90% of the city by 2023. In response to the escalating fighting, an armed vigilante movement, known as bwa kale, also emerged, with the purpose of fighting the gangs. On 2 October 2023, United Nations Security Council Resolution 2699 was approved, authorizing a Kenya-led "multinational security support mission" to Haiti. Until 2024, the war was between two major groups and their allies: the Revolutionary Forces of the G9 Family and Allies (FRG9 or G9) and the G-Pèp. However, in February 2024 the two rival groups united in a coalition known as Viv Ansanm, formed to oppose the government and the UN mission.
In March 2024, violence spread throughout Port-au-Prince with the goal of obtaining the resignation of acting prime minister Ariel Henry, leading to the storming of two prisons and the release of thousands of prisoners. These attacks and subsequent attacks on various government institutions led the Haitian government to declare a state of emergency and impose a curfew. Henry ultimately resigned and was replaced by Garry Conille on 3 June 2024, who in turn was replaced with Alix Didier Fils-Aimé in November 2024.
Background
Since the 1950s, armed groups have been firmly established in Haiti. This process began with the establishment of the Tonton Macoute paramilitaries by the dictatorship led by president François Duvalier, used to violently suppress dissidents. After the dictatorship ended with the removal of President Jean-Claude Duvalier (François' son) from power in 1986, violence continued. The Tonton Macoute were disbanded but never disarmed and thus reorganized as far-right vigilantes. Haitian political actors continued to employ armed groups to defend their interests, manipulate elections and suppress public unrest.
In 1994, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide outlawed pro-Duvalier armed groups and disbanded the Haitian Army, but that did not solve the issue, as again there was no disarmament. Thus, ex-soldiers and ex-militiamen further swelled the ranks of unofficial militant factions. From 1994 to 2004, a de facto anti-Arisitide insurgency took place in Port-au-Prince, as ex-soldiers attacked the government. In response to the chaos, youth set up self-defense groups, called chimères, which were supported by the police and the government to shore up its position. Receiving de facto state support from Aristide's Fanmi Lavalas party, the youth gangs took control of entire communes and became increasingly independent-minded. U.S. diplomat Daniel Lewis Foote argued, "Aristide started [the gangs] on purpose in the early 1980s, as a voice, as a way to get some power [for ordinary Haitians], [...] and they morphed over the years."
After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, younger and more ruthless gangs overcame the dominance of older more politically aligned gangs. The armed youth groups grew increasingly powerful. The earthquake also resulted in the mass breakout of criminals from damaged prisons in Haiti. According to Sabine Lamour, the protection of politicians accused of rape and abuse during Michel Martelly's administration (2011–2016) was a mirror of the culture of toxic masculinity and misogyny in the street gangs, whose members embodied the "Legal Bandit" he celebrated in his 2008 album Bandi Légal. The MINUSTAH, a United Nations peacekeeping operation in Haiti started after the end of the 2004 coup d'état, failed to contain the unrest and committed abuses of its own. Since the end of the MINUSTAH in October 2017, there has been an increase in the amount of gang-related violence, as well as an increase in the amount of gang-related violence against civilians, notably the 2018 Port-au-Prince massacre, in which 25 civilians were killed.
From 2017 to 2021, Haiti's political leadership became embroiled in a crisis, and the Haitian Parliament entered a deadlock, public administration gradually ceased to operate by a lack of funding, and the judicial system effectively fell apart. Scheduled elections were repeatedly postponed. The economy of Haiti suffered under the repeated natural disasters and the growing unrest, which further contributed to the crisis. Vox journalist Ellen Ioanes summarized it as "Haiti has faced serious and compounding crises, including a devastating 2010 earthquake, floods, cholera outbreaks, hurricanes, and corrupt, dictatorial, and incompetent leaders". Gangs stepped into the power vacuum, seizing political power through co-operative politicians and economic control through protection rackets, kidnappings and murders.
Known gangs and groups
By 2022, researchers estimated that about 200 gangs operated across Haiti. Of these, half were located in Port-au-Prince. The more influential gangs control large swathes of territory, including entire municipalities and communes.
- G9 alliance, officially Fòs Revolisyonè G9 an Fanmi e Alye (Revolutionary Forces of the G9 Family and allies): It was founded and is led by Jimmy Chérizier, nicknamed Barbecue, an ex-police officer. G9 is based in the capital's communes of Delmas, Pétion-Ville and parts of Carrefour. The G9 alliance includes many former soldiers and policemen in its ranks and was long connected to the Haitian Tèt Kale Party (PHTK) until distancing itself after Ariel Henry became prime minister. The G9 describes itself as a revolutionary organization and has begun to create a nation-wide alliance network dubbed "G20".
- Delmas 6 Gang: Personal gang of Chérizier, overall head of G9. The gang was already operating while Chérizier was still an active police officer, signifying the gang's strong links to the Haitian security forces.
- Baz Pilate: One of the capital's most important gangs, mainly consisting of ex-SWAT elite police.
- Baz Krache Dife.
- Nan Ti Bwa.
- Simon Pelé.
- Baz Nan Chabon.
- Waf Jérémie: Responsible for the Wharf Jérémie massacre in 2024, in which 207 people were killed.
- Nan Boston, also called "Boston gang".
- Belekou gang.
- G-Pèp: This gang alliance was formed in direct response to G9. It was organized by the Nan Brooklyn gang and its head Jean Pierre Gabriel (alias "Ti Gabriel"). It is centered on Port-au-Prince's Cité Soleil.
- Nan Brooklyn gang, also called "Brooklyn gang".
- "400 Mawozo": Formerly the largest gang in Haiti, mainly based in Croix-des-Bouquets, Ganthier and in Port-au-Prince's Tabarre and Pétion-Ville. It has branches in Gros-Morne and the Dominican Republic and has a waiting list for aspiring members. It largely consists of deportees, former leaders of opposition groups, former smugglers and police officers. In 2022, it aligned itself with "G-Pep" after its leader was extradited to the United States from a Haitian prison on gun smuggling charges. It came to international attention with the kidnapping of 17 U.S. missionaries and has also been involved in extortion rackets, road hijackings, smuggling contraband, and the traffic of arms, drugs, and people along the border with the Dominican Republic. It has been weakened in recent times due to clashes with G9 and Les Argentins over their territory.
- "Bel Air gang": Operates in the neighborhood of Bel Air, a slum of Port-au-Prince. Also known as "Les Argentins".
- "Grand Ravine" and "5 Segond": Two youth gangs based in Port-au-Prince's Martissant; mainly consists of vigilantes and "popular organizations" previously connected to Fanmi Lavalas.
- "Baz Galil": Based outside the capital, it mainly consists of deportees from the United States and is closely connected to the PHTK, various government agencies and other gangs.
- "Titanyen gang": Operates in Cabaret.
- "Baz 5 Segond": Operates in Village de Dieu.
- "Canaan gang": Operates in Cabaret. Also known as Taliban gang.
Connection with Jamaican gangs
A guns-for-drugs trade was exposed by the Jamaica Gleaner in 2020, where smugglers from Jamaica delivered marijuana to Haiti in exchange for handguns and assault weapons.
Course of the war
May 2020 attacks
In May 2020 a coalition of 11 gangs (Delmas 19, Delmas 6, Delmas 95, Nan Barozi, Nan Belekou, Nan Boston, Nan Chabón, Nan Ti Bwa, Baz Pilate, Simon Pelé and Wharf Jérémie) attacked several neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince as a way to secure and expand territorial control. The same month, they attacked civilians in the neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince, killing 34 people. Altès, the leader of an anti-government gang, switched alliances to the government and gangs allied with Chérizier to assassinate another anti-government leader, Ernso Nicholas. Following the assassination, many pro-government gangs seized control of anti-government gang territory. After the assassination, Chérizier, with assistance from other gangs, organized a meeting in Delmas 6 (a neighborhood that is the primary base of Chérizier's group) to plan an assault in the area of Cité Soleil, Port-au-Prince, perceived as anti-government, including Pont Rouge, Chancerelles and Nan Tokyo.
Chérizier's coalition went through with the attack beginning on 23 May. Chérizier's group is alleged to have attacked civilians in Nan Tokyo including the killing of two American missionaries, while Altès and another leader, Alectis, besieged Pont Rouge. The violence, not far from the General Inspectorate of the National Police of Haiti, lasted from the afternoon to the following day. Many fled the areas due to the violence. On 25 May, a displaced persons camp housing anti-government gangs was attacked by members of the coalition, primarily the Krache Dife de Delmas 6 gang, killing two people, including a minor; 24 houses were also burnt in the raid. On 26 May, Haitian armored police vehicles were positioned at the entrance to Nan Brooklyn. Tear gas was subsequently fired in the area, followed by gunfire targeting civilians. Nan Brooklyn was attacked again by gangs that day and the day after, killing four people, injuring 20 and setting fire to many homes. Chérizier was allegedly transported to the area in a Haitian police armored vehicle, according to witnesses in the area. In the aftermath of the attack, many new gang leaders were installed in the territories seized, which included Chancerelles, Nan Tokyo, Nan Barozi and Delmas 2 and 4. Nan Brooklyn would remain besieged until July, as the siege culminated in a massacre that resulted in the death of 145. By the end of the month, the coalition had been dissolved.
After those attacks, in a video on YouTube another coalition of nine gangs was announced to be founded in Port-au-Prince in June 2020, which became the G9 Alliance led by Chérizier. All the member gangs had previous links to the ruling PHTK party of President Jovenel Moïse. Since the coalition was founded, it has been responsible for multiple massacres against civilians and clashes with other rival gangs. From 2020 to 2021, the G9 was responsible for a dozen massacres in which at least 200 people were killed. The G9 was believed to have had close ties to the government of Moïse, which was accused of large-scale corruption. The coalition members frequently evaded prosecution after the massacres and the clashes. Chérizier stood out in this regard because despite the arrest warrants against him, he continued to move freely and to maintain an active presence on social media with no effective attempts by the Haitian government to arrest him. The G9 also began attacking neighborhoods in which civilians protested against the president and started clashes against rival gangs with the support of the police.
In response to the growing dominance of G9, a rival gang alliance, called "G-Pep", was founded in July 2020. It consisted of mainly those gangs in Port-au-Prince's Cité Soleil who were strongly opposed to joining G9. In the following months, both gang alliances began to expand beyond their initial areas of operation.
On 25 February 2021, hundreds of inmates started a jailbreak from the prison in which they were detained resulting in 26 deaths in Croix-des-Bouquets, Ouest, Haiti. Arnel Joseph, a powerful gang leader linked to 400 Mawozo, organized the riot and escaped from the jail. He fled with an accomplice in a car, but was then found by police, and a gunfight followed. Joseph was shot dead and declared dead at the scene, while his accomplice, who was driving the vehicle, was wounded but fled the scene.
On April 2, fighting in Bel Air led to the burning of houses and at least three killed. Jimmy "Barbecue" Chérizier accepted responsibility for the attacks. On 12 May 2021, during a clash with G-Pep, Chérizier was reported to be wounded.