UN Chief Visits Haiti Amid Soaring Gang Violence and Displacement

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres visited Haiti on Tuesday, a day marked by soaring gang violence that has displaced over 1 in 10 residents. Guterres’ visit to the capital followed the release of new U.N. statistics indicating 2,300 people have been killed and 100 kidnapped in Haiti this year, with 1.5 million people displaced.

Among those abducted recently is James Boyard, the cabinet director of the Defense Ministry, who was taken last week from a relatively secure area of the capital. The U.N. report highlights the expanding control of gangs across the nation. Guterres’ one-day visit occurred after more than 30 people were reported killed, injured, or missing last weekend in Cité Soleil, a seaside slum, according to the Cooperative for Peace and Development, a local human rights organization.

Guterres’ convoy passed through neighborhoods heavily impacted by gang activity, with sights of decimated car dealerships, abandoned homes, and buildings damaged by gunfire. Graffiti on a wall read, “Down with Viv Ansanm, long live the police.” Viv Ansanm, identified by the U.S. government as a foreign terrorist organization, is estimated to control 70% of Port-au-Prince.

The Secretary-General observed dozens of Haitians living in makeshift homes constructed from canvas and rope, who had fled gang violence. These individuals are part of over 300,000 people displaced by gang violence in Port-au-Prince, a record number. In May, more than 18,000 people fled the Cité Soleil slum alone, according to the U.N. International Organization for Migration (IOM).

“Haiti’s displacement crisis is entering an even more alarming phase,” stated Gregoire Goodstein, IOM chief of mission in Haiti, in a recent statement. Guterres’ itinerary included a stop at the headquarters of a new gang-suppression force, approved by the U.N. Security Council in September. This force replaces a previous U.N.-backed mission that faced underfunding and staffing shortages.

Troops from Jamaica, Chad, El Salvador, and Guatemala, totaling less than 1,000 personnel, have been deployed to form part of the new force, which is slated to begin operations in the coming weeks. They are expected to collaborate with Haiti’s National Police and its growing Armed Forces, where many Haitians are seeking to enlist.

Guterres also held a private meeting with Prime Minister Alix Didier-Fils-Aimé, who is tasked with organizing elections in Haiti, a country of nearly 12 million people that has lacked a president since the assassination of Jovenel Moïse in July 2021. Prime Minister Fils-Aimé emphasized that security is paramount for holding elections and restoring “republican rule,” urging Guterres to ensure contributing countries fulfill their commitments to the gang-suppression force.

During his visit, Guterres toured a makeshift shelter in a former school, housing over 1,200 people who fled gang violence. Some residents have lived there for up to four years. Clifford Lala, 31, expressed uncertainty about returning to his former community, Solino, which was recently overrun by gangs. Guterres met privately with a group of women at the shelter who described the lack of privacy and their concerns for their children. One woman stated, “It’s skin-to-skin and mouth-to-mouth.” The shelter provides only one meal per day.

Outside the classroom, a man voiced the urgent desire of residents to return home. Wendy Cejour, 26, and his family have resided at the school for 18 months, stating, “As long as we’re alive we have hope, but … things are difficult.” He added, “We ask … to return to our neighborhood to live better, because we don’t have a life here.”

The visit coincided with a Human Rights Watch letter urging Guterres to protect the population and address the root causes of violence. Guterres described his experience as deeply impactful, saying, “What I saw will not leave me. Each day is a fight to survive. … The women and the children pay the highest price.”