Haiti’s criminal landscape has been shaped by the country’s tumultuous history, marked by longstanding political instability, economic challenges, and repeated natural disasters.

Gangs and other criminal networks in Haiti have gained strength and influence since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, which remains unsolved. The Caribbean nation’s lack of legitimate political leadership, paired with its worsening security situation, has led some experts to warn that Haiti’s domestic crime problems could have long-term, region-wide impacts.

Geography

Haiti is one of the 16 sovereign countries in the Caribbean region. It occupies the western third of the island of Hispaniola, which it shares with the Dominican Republic to its east. To its west, across the Windward Passage, lie Cuba and Jamaica. To the north sit the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas, and the US state of Florida.

The nation’s porous maritime and land borders, and its proximity to the United States, make it an ideal transit point for drugs, arriving in planes and boats from Colombia and Venezuela, or traveling overland to and from the Dominican Republic.  Unmanned border checkpoints, clandestine airstrips, airports, shipping ports, and secluded docks along the country’s extensive coastline have long helped traffickers move drugs through the country.

The country’s location has made it particularly vulnerable to hurricanes and earthquakes, which have caused significant economic damage and resulted in political instability. These disasters have generated flows of international aid to Haiti, but these have been the subject of corruption scandals. International post-disaster assistance has also extended to the security realm, but those deployments have also been plagued with problems.Haiti’s turbulent political situation, frequent natural disasters, and poor economic situation have led hundreds of thousands of Haitians to flee the country. This exodus has fueled the growth of human smuggling networks that traverse the dangerous and, at times, fatal seas between Caribbean neighbors.  

History

After becoming a French colony in the 18th century, Haiti’s enslaved population revolted in 1791, led by Toussaint L’Ouverture. After years of fighting, Haiti declared its independence from France in 1804, becoming the first nation to successfully overthrow its colonial enslavers.

After independence, Haiti was beset by economic hardship and political instability. Many Haitians attribute the country’s financial woes and underdevelopment, which persist today, to exorbitant reparations that France forced Haiti to pay throughout the 1800s as indemnity for gaining independence. Haiti has also been subject to foreign interventions, including a repressive occupation by US forces from 1915 to 1934. The United States would later provide significant support to authoritarian rulers in Haiti – most notably the Duvalier family, led by François “Papa Doc” Duvalier and later his son, Jean-Claude, nicknamed “Baby Doc.” The father-son duo ruled Haiti as a brutal dictatorship from 1957 to 1986, when Baby Doc fled to France during a popular uprising.

During this period, the country became a criminal haven. Through the 1970s and 1980s, most cocaine consumed in the US was trafficked through the Caribbean, including Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Drug trafficking became a major source of income for Haiti’s political and business elites, who used their connections to protect drug traffickers and launder money. The government of Jean-Claude Duvalier was particularly notorious for its involvement in drug trafficking. The regime provided protection and logistical support for Colombian drug traffickers, including Pablo Escobar, who used Haiti as a transit point.

In 1986, protests and strikes motivated by economic and political grievances ousted Baby Doc Duvalier. Haiti underwent a brief democratic transition in 1990 when Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected president. However, Aristide was overthrown in a military coup and forced into exile the following year. A military regime ruled the country until 1994, when US troops intervened to restore Aristide’s rule. Upon returning to power, Aristide disbanded the Haitian army, a move that ousted a highly corrupt security force but also limited Haiti’s infrastructure for fighting organized crime and drug trafficking.

During the latter half of the 1990s, Aristide’s presidency was marred by his alleged involvement in corruption, political violence, and drug trafficking. During his terms as president, Haitian drug traffickers worked with the Medellín Cartel, and later the Norte del Valle Cartel, to move hundreds of tons of cocaine from Colombia through Haiti and into the United States. These networks allegedly bribed local officials, police, and even Aristide himself.

In 2004, Aristide, who had forged his own ties to criminal networks, was overthrown again, and a UN peacekeeping mission was established to stabilize the country. Drug traffickers continued to shift their operations to overland routes via Central America after authorities cracked down on smuggling along the maritime passage. Nonetheless, the US State Department estimated that by 2006, 8% of the cocaine reaching the US still went through Hispaniola.

In 2010, a devastating earthquake killed over 200,000 Haitians, displaced millions more, and caused widespread destruction.

In 2011, shortly after the earthquake, Michel Martelly was elected president, inheriting control of a country with dire poverty levels, rising violence, and deep-seated corruption. Martelly was accused of embezzlement in the famous Petrocaribe scandal, which broke into public view in 2017, involving the disappearance of $3.8 billion from a Venezuelan oil subsidy program meant to provide discounted oil to Haiti. He was also tied to street gangs, drug trafficking, and money laundering.

In 2016, Haiti again held elections, but fraud and voter suppression allegations sparked protests and delegitimized the newly elected Jovenel Moïse. In 2018, protests erupted across Haiti, calling for the resignation of Moïse, who was accused of corruption and mismanagement of the country’s resources. Instead of resigning, Moïse overstayed his presidential mandate, sparking a constitutional and political crisis that culminated in 2021, when Moïse was assassinated at his home in Port-au-Prince. The murder plunged the country into further political turmoil. Ariel Henry became the acting prime minister, while the country erupted in protests and violence.

Since the assassination, the Haitian government has not found its footing and struggles to control much of the country. Pervasive gang governance of Port-au-Prince, mass kidnappings, and the never-ceasing flow of guns into Haiti have contributed to its continued deterioration.

In 2022, the UN, the United States, and Canada imposed coordinated sanctions targeting Haitian gang leaders, politicians, and business elites for their alleged role in drug trafficking, money laundering, and financing criminal activity, but there have been few consequences so far. 

Rather, recurring waves of gang violence have continued to sweep through Port-au-Prince.

Criminal Groups

Hundreds of gangs exist throughout Haiti, and Port-au-Prince has seen the worst violence stemming from criminal groups. The UN estimates that the gangs control most of the capital city, but many Haitians believe nearly the entire city has fallen under the control of criminal groups. 

The country’s gang landscape has, in recent years, been dominated by two gang factions. The first, G9 and Family (G9 an fanmi – G9), is a gang federation encompassing some of the strongest gangs in Port-au-Prince. G9’s leader is Jimmy Chérizier, alias “Barbecue,” a former police officer. The group was previously linked to the Moïse and Henry’s Haitian Tèt Kale Party (Parti Haïtien Tèt Kale – PHTK), acting as vigilante enforcers for the party. Barbecue cut ties with them after Moïse’s assassination, however, as the group has gained significant political capital in the areas where it operates in Port-au-Prince.

G9 and Family are focused mainly on extortion but also carry out kidnappings for ransom and have, in some cases, taken over public services such as electricity or water provision for payment. Barbecue and G9, for instance, have blockaded Terminal Varreux, Haiti’s largest oil terminal, a coordinated effort by criminal groups to restrict access to fuel across Haiti to destabilize the government.

The second gang faction is G-PEP, another federation and historic rival of G9. PHTK’s political opponents have broadly supported the group, but it remains unclear to what extent it receives material or financial support. At times, they have allied with 400 Mawozo, a separate gang that rose to prominence through mass kidnappings of mostly Haitians but also foreigners, including that of 17 Western missionaries in 2021.

Many other gangs exist, such as the 5 Seconds (5 Segonn) gang, which has seized critical infrastructure and facilities like Haiti’s Supreme Court building and ransomed the government for their release; the Kraze Barye gang, which is based in Port-au-Prince and rose to prominence after killing several police officers and burning down a police station in early 2023.

The final months of 2023 saw the birth of an unprecedented alliance between the G9 and G-PEP federations, both seeking to form a united front against the state. The alliance, dubbed “Viv Ansanm,” or “Living Together,” has given the gangs a platform to sow political chaos by launching coordinated attacks against critical infrastructure, including airports, seaports, government buildings, and prisons. 

Repeated attacks on key infrastructure have paralyzed the capital city, derailing efforts to restore order and allowing Viv Ansanm to expand into new territories. In particular, gang activity has surged in the department of Artibonite, directly north of Port-au-Prince, where criminal groups have committed massacres against locals.

Security Forces

Haiti has weak security forces plagued by corruption, ineffectiveness, ties to gangs, chronic understaffing, poor training, and underfunding.

The principal law enforcement agency is the Haitian National Police (Police Nationale d’Haiti – PNH), which was created in 1995 to replace the disbanded Haitian Armed Forces, accused of human rights abuses and involvement in coups.

The absence of a functioning elected government means that security forces face little supervision or instruction and have often veered into crime. Chronically underpaid PNH officers have been accused of involvement in arms trafficking, state-sponsored massacres of civilians, and direct ties or membership in some of Haiti’s gangs.

Haiti’s Coast Guard, part of the Haitian National Police (Police Nationale d’Haïti – PNH), suffers from similar understaffing, despite being tasked with guarding the more than 900 miles of coastline.

The depth of gang control in Haiti prompted the creation of an international security force, backed by the United Nations, to support the country’s threadbare police. But the so-called Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, deployed in mid-2024 and led by Kenyan police officers, has done little to oppose the gangs amid shortages in staff and funding, and uncertain political backing.

Judicial System

The judicial system in Haiti has faced many challenges in recent years, including limited resources, corruption, and political interference. Overburdened by postponed judicial appointments, an upsurge in violence, and protests by judges and court clerks calling for improved salaries and working conditions, the system has all but collapsed.

In June and July 2022, gangs invaded the Supreme Court building in Port-au-Prince, destroying records and evidence.

Prisons

Haiti’s prisons are plagued by overcrowding, underfunding, limited resources, and poor oversight.

Haitian prisons house a range of detainees, many of whom committed misdemeanors, like petty theft or minor disputes, or are imprisoned arbitrarily for protesting and violent criminals or gang members.

Over 80% of the nation’s approximately 7,500 prisoners are being held in pretrial detention, according to UN estimates.

Repeated mass prison escapes also highlight shortcomings within the penitentiary system. Over 170 inmates escaped in a single riot in 2016, while over 300 broke free in 2014 during a shootout between guards and armed assailants. More recently, in 2024, Haiti declared a state of emergency after more than 3,500 prisoners escaped from the country’s largest prison in Port-au-Prince.

Prisons also suffer from a critical shortage of food and staff, leading to well over 100 incarcerated Haitians dying in 2022.

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