According to a UN assessment recently issued, gangs are encroaching on Haiti’s rural central region, choking a formerly tranquil area that functioned as the nation’s food basket but is now plagued by kidnappings, homicides, and rapes.
In Lower Artibonite, an area north of the capital Port-au-Prince, there are just a few strong gangs, but they have destroyed several towns with little police presence and no fundamental government institutions, according to the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner.
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“A climate of fear reigns in Lower Artibonite, where murders, sexual violence, theft, destruction of property, and other abuses are committed against the population on an almost daily basis,” the report stated.
According to the UN, from January 2022 to October 2023, more than 1,690 individuals were slain and more than 1,118 abducted in the region. An additional 22,000 people—more than half of them children—were forced to escape their homes due to gang violence.
The UN reported that gangs had also assaulted agricultural areas, obstructed irrigation systems, taken cattle and crops, and forced poor farmers to pay for access.
As of April, this year, the World Food Program reports that farmers have been forced to escape, resulting in the loss of over 12,000 acres (5,000 hectares) of crops. As a result, there are now twice as many hungry people in Artibonite, putting over half of the country’s 1.7 million inhabitants in danger of hunger.
A foreign armed force led by Kenya was authorized by the UN Security Council last month to assist the Caribbean country in bringing gang violence under control, but the UN expressed concern about the delay in deploying the force and stated that the situation in central Haiti calls for an immediate response.
“The consequences are disastrous for the populations affected but have provoked far too little reaction from national authorities and international actors,” the report noted. “The longer it takes to deploy a specialized international force, the more robust the response will have to be.”
Despite the fact that Parliament has previously approved the deployment of police, a Kenyan court earlier this month prolonged a ban on police deploying to Haiti.
In addition, the UN suggested that more police be sent to Artibonite, that police and court officials get pay raises, and that anyone who fund and assist gangs face consequences.
In response to the lack of police enforcement in Lower Artibonite, it was reported that self-defense organizations had emerged. These groups primarily travel on foot and carry machetes and blades as they search for suspected gang members as part of the “bwa kale” civil unrest that started earlier this year.
As per the UN, the migration has claimed the lives of around 400 individuals, accounting for 11% of the population of Artibonite.
“In the past, lynchings could be mitigated or even controlled by local, police or judicial authorities,” the report noted. “This is no longer the case, given that these institutions are virtually no longer functional or present in the areas where they occur.”
However, the gangs are still unaffected, and the cops are helpless.
On the only major route that connects the capital to Artibonite, gangs have ambushed and attacked police and judicial buildings on several occasions. They killed seven police officers in a single event in January in the central town of Liancourt, which sparked demonstrations by police in Port-au-Prince and other areas.
“Some police officers even attempted to invade the international airport runway and the prime minister’s residence,” the report noted.
Additionally, gangs have attacked towns that opposing groups control. From January 2022 to October 2023, over 100 attacks were recorded in 17 communities, resulting in the deaths of roughly 300 individuals, including an elderly couple who was slaughtered inside their home, according to the study.
According to the UN, gangs have kidnapped over 1,100 individuals during that time, beating their victims with baseball bats or setting them on fire with plastic wax. It further said that sexual assault occurs against women and children.
The article focused on the tale of a 22-year-old woman who, according to officials, was held hostage for more than two weeks and subjected to repeated beatings, burnings, and sexual assaults. She hung herself in her bedroom shortly after being freed, and the UN claimed that her death underscores the dearth of support offered to survivors traumatized by gang violence in isolated locations.
The organization stated that the G-Pep alliance, which controls over 50 miles (80 kilometers) of roads heading north to the central area and the coastal towns along the route, is supporting the gangs in Lower Artibonite.
Additionally, gangs in the center area are supported by “extremely influential political and economic players. The latter in turn rely on these gangs to create instability, satisfy their political ambitions, control sectors of the economy, and facilitate illicit trafficking by controlling main roads,” The study concluded.
