Authorities in Haiti have arrested former Senator Nenel Cassy on charges of conspiring against the state and financing criminal organizations, amid an intensifying crackdown on political figures linked to the country’s escalating gang violence.
Cassy was taken into custody on Saturday while dining at a restaurant in Pétion-Ville, an affluent suburb of the capital Port-au-Prince, according to a statement from Haiti’s National Police, which was accompanied by photos of the former lawmaker handcuffed and flanked by heavily armed, masked officers.
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The arrest follows serious allegations made earlier this year, when Haitian authorities accused Cassy of backing gang members involved in deadly February attacks on Kenscoff, a previously safe hillside community about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Port-au-Prince. The raids left dozens dead, including local farmers and a two-month-old infant, further fueling national outrage over the country’s spiraling security crisis.
In 2023, the U.S. State Department designated Cassy as a corrupt actor, citing his involvement in undermining democratic institutions and facilitating illicit activities.
Cassy’s arrest marks a rare high-profile detention as the Haitian government faces mounting pressure to regain control of the capital, where criminal groups now hold sway over 90 percent of the territory, according to the United Nations.
The humanitarian toll continues to climb. In 2024 alone, more than 5,600 people have been reported killed, with gang violence displacing over one million individuals in recent years, the UN reports.
As Haiti struggles with institutional collapse, calls are growing for international support and domestic reform to address the entrenched nexus of politics, corruption, and organized crime that has pushed the nation to the brink of lawlessness.
