UNITED NATIONS (BN24) — Haiti’s gangs now have “near-total control” of Port-au-Prince, crippling the country’s ability to govern and pushing the security crisis to new extremes, senior United Nations officials told the Security Council on Wednesday.
An estimated 90% of Haiti’s capital is dominated by heavily armed criminal groups who are not only expanding attacks into surrounding communities but spreading violence to areas once considered safe. Ghada Fathy Waly, executive director of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, said gangs are exploiting key border crossings such as Belladere and Malpasse, where assaults on police and customs officials have surged.
“Southern Haiti, which until recently was insulated from the violence, has seen a sharp increase in gang-related incidents,” Waly said. She warned that gang control of trade routes has paralyzed legal commerce, driving up the cost of cooking fuel and rice, Haiti’s staple food. Criminal factions are also establishing “parallel governance structures” that fill the vacuum left by an eroding state.
U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca said the gangs’ growing stranglehold has brought Haiti “closer to the brink.” He cautioned that without decisive international action, the country could soon face “the total collapse of state presence in the capital.”
Gang power has steadily increased since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. Haiti has yet to install a new president, and the vacuum has emboldened armed groups that previously controlled about 85% of Port-au-Prince.
Last year, a U.N.-backed multinational mission led by Kenyan police arrived to help restore order, but the force remains severely understaffed and underfunded, with just 40% of the 2,500 personnel originally envisioned. A proposal by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to bolster the mission with drones, transport and nonlethal supplies has stalled in the Security Council.
In the meantime, the Haitian National Police, private security contractors and vigilante groups have multiplied. Some community groups have tried to protect neighborhoods, but others operate outside the law or collaborate with gangs.
Jenca said that over the past three months, vigilante groups killed at least 100 men and one woman suspected of gang links. The period also saw a sharp rise in sexual violence, with the U.N. political mission documenting 364 incidents involving 378 survivors between March and April alone.
A U.N. expert report covering October to February said gangs are profiting from chaos and political gridlock, accusing rival factions and alleged corruption within Haiti’s transitional government of undermining efforts to restore security.
“While the expansion of territorial control brings gangs additional sources of revenue and bargaining power,” the experts said, “these attacks are also backed by individuals trying to destabilize the political transition for their own political goals.”
Little progress has been made toward organizing national elections targeted for February 2026. The expert monitors warned that Haiti’s national police remain overstretched, its military must be rebuilt, and the limited international mission cannot confront gangs without more resources.
The experts also raised alarms about vigilante groups that include local police officers involved in human rights abuses and extrajudicial killings. According to their findings, specialized police units carried out 281 summary executions so far this year, including killings of 22 women and eight children.
Despite a U.N. arms embargo, Haitian gangs continue to acquire powerful weapons from regional markets and police stockpiles in both Haiti and the neighboring Dominican Republic, the report said.
