Haitian National police report the killing of a gang leader known as Mathias Saintil, leader of the Boston gang, named for a neighbourhood in Cite Soleil, an impoverished part of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
They stated he was killed in an operation carried out by Haiti’s UN-backed Gang Suppression Force, better known as GSF — an international force that was deployed in April after a Kenyan-led mission failed to make progress in the country.
As much as 90 percent of the capital, Port-au-Prince, has fallen under gang control, including key roadways and maritime ports.
As we reported here at PWS last week, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele deployed 2,000 additional troops to the country at the end of October.
Experts, however, are concerned, and confused, about how exactly operations will be carried out.
UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, in a statement to UN News on 3 November, said that the “vast majority” of the 2,000 new Salvadorean troops in Haiti “are not deployed under the Gang Suppression Force,”
With the arrival of Buekele’s soldiers, Five security forces are now operating independently within Haiti’s borders: Salvadoran troops, Haitian police and military, the GSF, and a private contractor groups working with Vectus Global, the security firm founded by Erik Prince.
Bukele has repeatedly stated that he can carry out operations similar to those in El Salvador, where “iron fist” security policies drastically reduced violence, but also led to human rights violations of the civilian population.
If there are similar abuses in Haiti, who will answer for them? Conflict experts have pointed out that the opaque command structure, and seemingly chaotic coordination of multiple security forces in the country makes this unclear — perhaps intentionally.
Haiti’s gangs, however, are far more better-armed, and experienced, than local groups in El Salvador.
One of our readers wrote sarcastically that “who knew Latin American countries could have their own Vietnam?”. We chuckled, but they might not be far from the truth.
