1 Overview of the Gangs of Haiti
Haiti faces a security crisis characterized by an insurgency campaign from armed gangs. These groups have gone in the last four years from criminal organizations into paramilitary outfits that engage in violent confrontations with enemy factions and state forces as they seize control of the country’s infrastructure. Gangs in Haiti control most of the Port-au-Prince area and key parts of the Artibonite Valley. (Source)
Sources estimate that the number of gangs actively engaged in criminal violence in 2023 nearly doubled since 2021, reaching a total of 300 different organizations. Most of them are smaller groups that operate under the radar, but the real threat lies in the criminal alliances made of different outfits: The G9 Family and Allies and the G-Pep of Cité Soleil. (Source)
The G9 Family is led by former Haitian police officer Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier while the G-Pep is composed mainly of the Nan Brookling and the 400 Mawozo, the largest gang in Haiti. Different groups like the Canaan Gang and Cinq Secondes are also in play in the turf wars that have left 580,000 displaced civilians and 3,252 reported homicides in the first six months of 2024. (Source)
2 Revolutionary Forces of the G9 Family and Allies
The G9 Family and Allies (G9 Fanmi e Alye – G9) is a criminal alliance of nine gangs in Port-au-Prince and the main threat to internal security. Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier, a former police officer turned gang leader, founded the federation four years ago by joining nine armed groups from the capital shantytowns.
Barbecue is known for making public appearances and giving interviews to the media in military clothing.
Harvard Law School and a Haitian Crime Observatory allege that Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier was at some point supported by state officials and police agents loyal to President Jovenel Moïse. After the presidential assassination, the alliance went on the offensive against the rest of the gangs to regain its influence in disputed territories (Source, source, source).
The Associated Press reported that the G9 Family and Allies controlled around 80% of the capital shantytowns and were launching coordinated attacks on “once unthinkable targets like the Central Bank”. Jimmy Chérizier also claimed responsibility for orchestrating attacks that led to the escape of over 4,700 inmates from Haiti’s two largest prisons and killed around a dozen people. (Source)
The G9 participation in the largest jailbreak in Haitian history was followed by the storming of Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, which was repelled by security. Jimmy Chérizier stated to the media that the goal was to capture government institutions as well as police personnel to overthrow the unelected acting prime minister. (Source, source)
2.1 Activities of The Revolutionary Forces of the G9 Family and Their Allies
Besides government destabilization, the criminal alliance have been responsible for numerous massacres of civilians in Haiti. These include a massacre that killed 34 people in May 2020 and another that left 22 civilians dead in September 2020. Both of the civilian massacres were committed in Port-au-Prince. Activists have described the G9’s tactics to include random killings, systematic rape and the torching of villages. (Source, source, source, source)
The G9 Family and Ally’s main criminal activity is extortion, the federation targets local businesses and street vendors in controlled territories for protection rackets. There are also reports of targeted extortion against public services like electricity and transportation, the federation is documented to have taken petrol stations by force. (Source)
3.0 G-Pep of Cité Soleil
The GPep is a copycat federation of criminal organizations and armed groups that was formed to counter the G9 influence in the capital. Jean Pierre Gabriel of the Nan Brooklyn gang formed the ground by bringing together the 400 Mawozo gang and the Cinq Secondes gang. It is based in the north of Port-au-Prince, with its stronghold on Cité Soleil.
Although the leadership comes from the Nan Brokklyn gang, the actual chain of command inside the criminal alliance is currently unknown. Gpep principal income is largely focused on collective kidnapping and large-scale narcotics trafficking, which have made 400 Mawozo the most powerful and influential organization within the alliance. (Source)
The Gpep have used internal fractures in enemy organizations to expand its footprint in the contested territories of the Haitian capital. They also have launched ruthless offensives in the Artibonite valley against rival factions and civilian populations. Approximately 1,700 people have been killed, injured or kidnapped during the last two years. (Source)
A United Nations report reveals that the criminal federation regularly tortures kidnapping victims to force their families into paying ransom. The Gpep also used sexual violence as a weapon against women and even children during the expansion across the countryside. Violence from the Gpep has forced over 22,000 people to flee their villages and seek refuge in the capital. (Source)
4.0 400 Mawozo
The 400 Mawozo is currently the largest active criminal group in Haiti. Joseph Wilson founded the group from the remnants of a previous theft ring called the Texas Gang. Between 2020 and 2024, the Mawozo managed to consolidate its power through a kidnapping camping and recruitment drive that strengthened its numbers by the hundreds. (Source).
The Joseph Wilson follower’s activities have largely been concentrated in the municipality of Croix-des-Bouquets. 400 Mawozo presence has also been reported in the municipalities of Ganthier and Thomassseau. Insight Crime explains that explained that this group intends to penetrate the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince by surrounding the capital from the outside suburbs. (Source)
The 400 Mawozo largely focused on collective kidnapping. “Lanmò San Jou” and “Germine Yonyon”, the main leaders inside the armed group, began using a kidnapping scheme focused on numerous abductions and small pays to gain by quantity rather than by quality. Called “express kidnapping, the scheme was responsible for the majority of abductions outside Port-au-Prince. (Source)
Victims of the group range from foreign missionaries to national citizens. Frantz Champagne of the Haitian Police blamed the 400 Mawozo for the kidnapping of seven clergy members in April last year. The 400 Mawozo activity in Haiti came to the attention of the International Community after demanding one million dollars for the release of the missionaries (Source)
Haiti’s Human Rights Analysis and Research Center (Centre d’Analyse et de Recherche en Droits de l’Homme) alleges that the gang has also specialized in the extortion of businesses and hijacking of trucks in the border area of the border Dominican Republic. Experts consistently cite the 400 Mawozo as the country’s most worrying criminal organization. (Source, source)
5.0 Paramilitary Organizations and Other Gangs of Haiti
Fantom 509 and Village de Dieu are paramilitary outfits composed mainly of retired or active police officers involved in criminal activity. Both represent the paramilitary aspect of the armed groups, although they do not engage in massive kidnappings like other known gangs, they are reported to engage in domestic terrorism and extrajudicial killings regularly. (Source)
The Fantom 509 first emerged in 2018, when the national police union known as Syndicat de la Police Nationale was protesting to demand better pay and working conditions. Since then, the paramilitary formation has taken part in attacks on government buildings and civilian populations. (Source, source)
Unité Village de Dieu is a mix of hardened criminals and paramilitary operators. It came to public light in 2024 after releasing a video of its militia. Images of the formation showcased heavily armed members of the gang uniformed in military attire and driving camouflaged vehicles. The Haitian Police have disavowed the paramilitary formations and issued warrants against their primary members. (Source)
6.0 Bwa Kale (Vigilante Movement)
The Bwa Kale is the common name attributed to vigilantes in Haiti, it means peeled wood in Haitian Creole and is also a street slang for swift justice. The Bwa Kale started last year as a popular defence movement in shantytowns, but it quickly descended into paramilitary formations responsible for the torture and execution of innocent civilians. (Source, source).
Vigilantes have killed at least a hundred people suspected of being gangsters, considerably reducing the control of gangs in certain neighbourhoods. Most of the objectives of the militia are chopped or stoned to death before being dismembered and set on fire. Victims have included active police officers and civilians from different neighbourhoods. (Source, source)
6.0 Smaller Gangs of Haiti
Gangs such as Five Seconds and Grand Ravine have led incursions to contest control of Port-au-Prince’s southern entrance. Neighbourhoods such as Mariani and Martissant have seen an increase in activity coming from both gangs. The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data also recorded the expansion of the Kraze Barye gang in eastern Port-au-Prince (Source).
Gran Grief de Savien and Kokorat San Ras are others of the gangs contesting territories in rural areas. Despite the fact that these groups are smaller in comparison to the alliances and federations inside the capital, their violent methods – including systematic extortion of farmers and kidnapping in public transportation- are as equal as lethal (Source).
