United Nations – A little over two weeks after a surge of violence in the Cité Soleil commune of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, a UN report has concluded that more than 207 people were executed by the Wharf Jérémie gang.
The report by the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) covers the period between 6 and 11 December, during which 134 men and 73 women were killed.
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Most of the victims were elderly people accused of practicing voodoo and causing the gang leader’s child’s illness.
Other victims included those who tried to flee the area for fear of reprisals or were suspected of leaking information about the crimes to local media.
Shot or killed with machetes
Tracked down at their homes and in a place of worship, the victims were taken to the gang’s stronghold where they were held captive and interrogated inside a so-called “training centre”.
They were then taken to a nearby execution site before being shot or killed with machetes. The gang attempted to erase all evidence by burning the bodies or dismembering them and then throwing them into the sea.
“We cannot act as if nothing happened,” said María Isabel Salvador, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Haiti and head of BINUH.
“I call on the Haitian justice system to conduct a thorough investigation into these horrific crimes and to arrest and punish their perpetrators, as well as those who support them. I also call on the authorities to quickly establish a specialised judicial unit to handle this type of crime.”
© IOM/Antoine Lemonnier
An IOM aid distribution point in Port-au-Prince
Alarming levels of violence
Since 2022, the Wharf Jérémie gang has been fighting rival gangs for control of the roads leading to the capital’s main port and its container terminal.
This year alone, BINUH and OHCHR have recorded more than 5,350 people killed and more than 2,155 others injured as a direct result of these acts of violence.
Additionally, the gang leader is said to impose “taxes” on the consortium managing the port, particularly for the release of containers, as well as on trucking companies transporting goods from the port.
He has also positioned himself as a key intermediary for national and international actors seeking to access the local populations living in Wharf Jérémie.
The documented crimes in Wharf Jérémie occur in an alarming context of violence and human rights violations and abuses in Haiti, involving both criminal gangs, self-defence groups, and unorganised members of the population.
Credible sources also indicate the involvement of specialised units of the Haitian National Police (PNH), according to the report.
