(Le Floridien) — On Wednesday, the Haiti police vowed to take action against the ongoing gang violence that has paralyzed parts of the capital city, while also urging Haitians to refrain from carrying out vigilante killings. The police plea came after a violent crowd lynched at least 13 suspected gang members who had been arrested by the police in the Canape Vert neighborhood of Port-au-Prince on Monday. Videos and images shared on social media suggested that more people have since died after being stoned and set on fire.
Garry Desrosiers, spokesman for Haiti’s National Police, asked people to report any unusual activities or strangers in their neighborhoods and not take justice into their own hands. He also confirmed that the police were mobilized and anti-gang operations would continue. However, he declined to provide specific details about the number of victims killed this week.
The violence on Monday took place after police confiscated weapons from suspects who were face down on the pavement when they were lynched. Six other suspected gang members were also set on fire by a crowd in the nearby neighborhood of Turgeau after allegedly being shot by the police. The recent surge in gang violence has injured three police officers and led residents of Canape Vert and Turgeau to arm themselves with machetes, rocks, and bottles to defend their neighborhoods.
Desrosiers acknowledged people’s frustration and anger over the ongoing gang violence, stating that victims have been subjected to rape and kidnapping, which is unacceptable. However, he condemned vigilante violence and urged people to avoid taking the law into their own hands.
The United Nations has estimated that gangs now control 80% of Port-au-Prince, with lawlessness escalating since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021. On Wednesday, the new U.N. special envoy for Haiti, María Isabel Salvador, called for the immediate deployment of a specialized international force that Prime Minister Ariel Henry had requested in October. However, neither the U.N. Security Council, the U.S., nor Canada has expressed any interest in deploying a foreign force.
Salvador also highlighted that Haiti’s National Police is severely understaffed, with only 3,500 officers on public safety duty nationwide at any given time. Furthermore, more than 11 million people live in Haiti, where seven major gang coalitions and around 200 affiliated groups operate. She noted that in the first quarter of 2022, more than 690 criminal incidents were reported, including killings, rapes, kidnappings, and lynchings. That number more than doubled to 1,647 in the same period this year.
