Haitian authorities have confirmed the deaths of two Jamaican men during a counternarcotics operation in the northwest region of the country.
The Brigade de Lutte contre le Trafic de Stupéfiants (BLTS), the counternarcotics unit of the Haitian National Police (HNP), reported that under the leadership of Acting Superintendent Jeir Pierre, the Port-de-Paix police and prosecutor’s office intercepted a rowboat heavily laden with drugs. The operation resulted in the drowning deaths of the two Jamaicans.
Reports also stated that during the operation, an unidentified third individual also died and a Bahamian man was arrested.
Officials seized more than 90 kilograms of cocaine from the vessel and noted that several other suspicious boats are believed to be at large in the area. Haitian authorities described the operation as “a first in the history of the Northwest.”
Meanwhile, the Bahamas Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledged receipt of unconfirmed reports involving Bahamian nationals in a related incident, stating that three Bahamian men and one Jamaican male were reportedly shot at while on a speed boat, resulting in two deaths, one hospitalization, and one individual unaccounted for. The Ministry is working with Haitian authorities to verify the reports and monitoring the situation closely.
