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Haiti - The Iron Grip of the Gangs

February 5, 2025

In Port-au-Prince, nearly three million people are living in the grips of all-out gang war. A film crew spent a fortnight filming in and around the Haitian capital.

https://p.dw.com/p/4pAS4
Haiti - The Iron Grip of the Gangs
In Haiti, the state largely exists only on paper. Criminal gangs have taken control of the capital Port-au-Prince. Kidnappings and sexualized violence are part of everyday life.Image: Java

They documented how regular people are suffering under this brutal gang rule.

Haiti - The Iron Grip of the Gangs
In some cases, people can no longer move between the individual neighbourhoods, which are controlled by competing gangs.Image: Java

Gangs now control more than 80% of the city. One of the most notorious gang leaders in the Haitian capital is Jimmy Chérizier, also known as "Barbecue”. He says the gangs won’t be laying down their arms any time soon. "We demand to be at the negotiating table,” he said, speaking  from his stronghold in the slums of Port-au-Prince. "If not, we will continue to fight.”

Haiti - The Iron Grip of the Gangs
The Haitian gangs, so well equipped with over-the-counter weapons from the USA, have managed to place the Caribbean state as a hot spot in the major world crises. Image: Java

Barbecue is the frontman of a powerful alliance of various gangs in the capital. Instead of fighting each other, the armed groups have united and turned their firepower on the state, forcing prime minister Ariel Henry to resign during an overseas trip in March 2024.

Haiti - The Iron Grip of the Gangs
The government and the police are unable to establish security. On the contrary: many police officers have already been killed by gang members.Image: Java

Today, the gangs wield considerable economic and military leverage. They control most of Port-au-Prince’s seafront, and thus the zones surrounding the country’s strategically vital ports.

Haiti - The Iron Grip of the Gangs
In the city, piles of rubbish pile up at the edge of the streets, food leftovers ferment in the sun between the houses. A breeding ground for cholera, which unfortunately broke out again last year but, contrary to all fears, has not yet spread to any great extent. Gang violence is a much more pressing problem.Image: Java

Haiti relies heavily on imports, shipping in more than 50% of its food, a figure that is shocking for a country with an abundance of fertile land.

Haiti - The Iron Grip of the Gangs
Houses are looted and torched. People are forced to flee. Kidnappings and extortion are the order of the day. Just like sexualised violence.Image: Java

Many Haitians blame corrupt, ultra-wealthy elites for the situation, accusing them of building their vast family fortunes via monopolies on staple goods.

Haiti - The Iron Grip of the Gangs
The gangs have taken 100 per cent control of Port-au-Prince, say people on the streets of the capital. The United Nations speaks of 60 per cent.Image: Java

In the shantytowns of Port-au-Prince, controlled by the gangs, there are thousands of people who are unable or unwilling to flee. Murders, kidnappings, gang rapes and fires are commonplace, with no end to the crisis in sight.

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