Haitian authorities have confirmed an imminent threat of armed violence targeting the southern city of Les Cayes, as a new United Nations report paints a grim picture of escalating brutality and state collapse across the country.
In an urgent information report dated April 11 and addressed to the Director General of the Haitian National Police (PNH), Divisional Commissioner Daniel Compère, Departmental Director of the South, detailed intelligence findings that 33 heavily armed individuals are preparing coordinated attacks in the region.
“Dear Director General,
The undersigned is hastening to forward to your office the department’s emergency security information. Following persistent rumors of the presence of armed individuals in the department’s southern coastal zone, the department’s intelligence service was able to confirm the veracity of these allegations. Thirty-three (33) heavily armed individuals are based between the towns of Tiburon and Les Anglais. They are targeting the Departmental Directorate of the South and the civil prison in Les Cayes. Our intelligence has provided information on the modus operandi of these criminals. They plan to attack as follows : Storm the police stations in the coastal zone, while others coming from Pestel under the direction of Guy Philippe will do the same from the Camp-Perrin police station in order to reach the city of Les Cayes. Therefore, Mr. Director General, being short of ammunition and weapons, the Departmental Director requests your assistance at all levels to address this situation, including a temporary withdrawal of the UDMO team based in Gréssier to reinforce the force on site. This information is submitted to you for your convenience.”
The warning comes just days after a new UN Human Rights report, presented in Geneva during the 58th session of the Human Rights Council, described Haiti’s deteriorating security situation as “unprecedented.”
“Human rights violations and abuses have reached a scale and intensity that I have never seen before in Haiti,” said William O’Neill, the High Commissioner’s Designated Expert on Haiti. “The fear is palpable in people’s eyes and in their voices. The capital is almost entirely controlled and surrounded by gangs.”
The report reveals that over 4,200 people have been killed and 1,300 injured—mostly by gunfire—in just eight months, with more than one million Haitians displaced from their homes. Hospitals have been shuttered, public servants have fled, and state institutions bear the physical scars of gang attacks.
Gangs, including the powerful Viv Ansanm coalition, have expanded their control from poor neighborhoods to the heart of Port-au-Prince, launching deadly assaults on civilians and institutions. One of the most violent episodes unfolded in Cité Soleil, where 207 people were executed over a five-day span.
Weapons trafficked primarily through U.S. ports, often hidden in containers of frozen food or electronics, have made these criminal groups increasingly lethal. “These weapons, which are increasingly sophisticated, are not manufactured in Haiti, but consistently flow in from elsewhere,” said UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk, calling for an immediate crackdown on illegal arms imports.
The UN is urging member states to strictly enforce an arms embargo on Haiti, bolster port and border controls, dismantle trafficking routes, and implement weapons buy-back programs.
