Living Together: The Gangs of Haiti - Part 2: Fighting Back

Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime

Part 2 - 'Fighting Back'

In 2022, a video emerged of an alleged senior gang member, Zo Pwason, who had been caught by an armed group of Haitian citizens, led by Commissioner Jean-Ernest Muscadin. Zo Pwason was allegedly a senior member of the 5 Segond gang. He was executed by the armed group.

Muscadin declared that “As long as I am government commissioner, the city of Miragoâne will remain a cemetery for bandits”.

In this episode we look at those citizens that have fought back against the growing power of the gangs, and the emergence of the 'Bwa Kale' movement in 2023. These self-defence or vigilante groups protect their neighbourhoods from the gangs, and target suspected gang members.

We'll discuss how the gangs control areas through violence, limiting movement and the frequent targeting women and girls.

But we'll also follow on from the last episode and explore the connections to other illicit markets like drugs and people smuggling, as well as the proliferation of firearms flowing into the country, the vast majority of which come from the US.

And finally, we'll discuss the previous scandal-ridden recent UN mission to the country.

Speakers

Jacqueline Charles, Haiti/Caribbean Correspondent, Miami Herald.

Widlore Merancourt, Editor-in-chief for Ayibopost & reporter for the Washington Post on its Haiti coverage

William (Bill) G. O'Neill, UN Independent Expert on the Human Rights Situation in Haiti

Romain Le Cour Grandmaison, Senior Expert, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

Sophie Rutenbar, Visiting scholar at the New York University Center on International Cooperation

GITOC Links

The GI-TOC Observatory of Violence and Resilience in Haiti

Will the Artibonite massacre be a turning point in Haiti - https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/artibonite-massacre-haiti/

Gangs of Haiti: Expansion, power and an escalating crisis - https://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GITOC-Gangs-of-Haiti.pdf

Violence in Haiti: A continuation of politics by other means? - https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/violence-in-haiti-politics-crime-gangs/

Additional Links

https://www.devex.com/news/in-haiti-no-one-is-surprised-by-the-oxfam-scandal-92342

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/25/haitians-wary-as-kenyan-police-arrive-on-latest-us-backed-mission

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/02/12/oxfam-scandal-deepens-allegations-sex-aid-abuse-charity-shops/

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/oxfam-child-abuse-haiti-scandal-inquiry-sexual-exploitation-charity-commission-a8953566.html

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-48593401

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/15/timeline-oxfam-sexual-exploitation-scandal-in-haiti

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c04UG5-T_IM&t=3s

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/10/6/un-peacekeepers-leave-haiti-what-is-their-legacy

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/09/15/americas/haiti-un-peacekeepers-trust-fund-sexual-abuse-as-equals-intl-cmd/index.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miwOl12A2fE

https://www.reuters.com/article/world/haitians-say-underaged-girls-were-abused-by-un-peacekeepers-idUSKBN1YM27V/

https://insightcrime.org/haiti-organized-crime-news/jimmy-cherizier-alias-barbecue/

https://minujusth.unmissions.org/la-minujusth-condamne-les-violences-commis-%C3%A0-grand-ravine-et-appelle-les-autorit%C3%A9s-nationales-%C3%A0

https://haitiantimes.com/2018/11/14/a-u-n-backed-police-force-carried-out-a-massacre-in-haiti-the-killings-have-been-almost-entirely-ignored/

https://theintercept.com/2018/01/10/haiti-raid-united-nations-police-grand-ravine/

https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2022-DON427

https://www.cdc.gov/orr/responses/haiti-cholera-outbreak.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/18/world/americas/united-nations-haiti-cholera.html?_r=0

https://www.queensu.ca/gazette/stories/call-un-help-haitians-affected-cholera

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-37126747

https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/02/04/un-chief-antonio-guterres-internal-criticism-human-rights/

https://press.un.org/en/2016/sgsm18323.doc.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hMrUqO2n0c

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2011/05/06/136049974/verdict-haitis-cholera-outbreak-originated-in-u-n-camp

https://www.dec.org.uk/article/2010-haiti-earthquake-facts-and-figures

https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazel/view/hazards/earthquake/event-more-info/8732

https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/mission/minustah

https://www.nyc.gov/site/nypd/about/about-nypd/about-nypd-landing.page

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/25/world/americas/haiti-political-instability-bsap.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-68518921

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-40365766

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/05/guy-philippe-haiti-senate

https://insightcrime.org/haiti-organized-crime-news/guy-philippe/

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article139045528.html

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https:/insightcrime.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/guy-philippe-indictment_compressed.pdf

https://lenouvelliste.com/en/article/250174/miragoane-protest-in-support-of-jean-ernest-muscadin

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-41235-haiti-justice-two-government-commissioners-receive-a-reprimand-from-the-ministry-of-justice.html

https://canada-haiti.ca/content/interview-commissioner-jean-ernest-muscadin

https://x.com/GazetteHaiti/status/1531686831607140354

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36809-haiti-news-zapping.html

https://gazettehaiti.com/index.php/node/7144

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23RoDKn-Vz0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGnieIule50

https://rezonodwes.com/?p=320413

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/30/haiti-port-au-prince-violence-gangs-police

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5r_q79Wqwc

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-39382-haiti-canape-vert-more-than-a-dozen-bandits-lynched-and-burned-by-the-population.html

https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature/2023/06/27/we-cant-find-support-three-womens-stories-repeated-rape-haitian-gangs

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https:/www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2024-07/Addressing-Haitian-womens-particular-needs-through-their-leadership-role-en.pdf

https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/07/1152206

https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/haiti/overview

https://docs.un.org/en/S/2024/320

https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/4064141/files/S_2024_752-EN.pdf

https://suntci.com/american-tourist-killed-policeman-shot-as-gang-violence-intensifies-in-tur-p8242-129.htm

https://www.loopnews.com/content/gang-violence-surge-in-turks-and-caicos-related-to-transnational-crime/

https://ht.usembassy.gov/florida-resident-sentenced-for-smuggling-firearms-from-united-states-to-violent-haitian-gang-that-kidnapped-19-americans/

https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/king-violent-haitian-gang-sentenced-35-years-prison-gun-smuggling-and-money-laundering

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eInOaNVs_c

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article261029297.html

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/haiti-ap-santo-domingo-dominican-republic-associated-press-b2651596.html

https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20250305/dominican-republic-seizes-weapons-and-thousands-ammunition-destined-haiti

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fPOOGyJRWQ

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article275443291.html

https://www.statista.com/statistics/715019/homicide-rates-in-latin-america/

https://ocindex.net/country/jamaica

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/13/jamaica-gang-crime-police

https://ocindex.net/country/haiti

https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20200210/fishing-guns-old-harbour-bay-boatmen-rake-profits-drugs-arms

https://insightcrime.org/news/jamaica-haiti-drugs-guns/

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edwi/pr/colombian-national-extradited-face-international-narcotics-trafficking-conspiracy

https://www.rhinews.com/justice/liberation-de-jean-eliobert-eddy-one-jasme-un-scande-de-plus-pour-la-justice-haitienne-selon-pierre-esperance/

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article260192325.html

https://insightcrime.org/news/extradition-drug-smuggler-underscores-haitis-historical-cocaine-transit-hub-status/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD9M4i-I0tI

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/the-men-behind-haiti-s-rebellion-infamous-2816773.php

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article19047087.html

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article11959538.html

https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/pubs/states/newsrel/mia072505a.html

https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/msg86391.html

https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2004/02/26/drug-runner-implicates-aristide/

https://www.browardpalmbeach.com/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-haitian-drug-lord-jacques-ketant-7001667

https://insightcrime.org/news/brief/us-deports-former-haiti-cocaine-kingpin/

https://insightcrime.org/news/unearthing-aristides-convicted-confidant/

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-04-02-mn-44460-story.html

https://www.democracynow.org/2004/3/3/the_haitian_army_returns_who_is

https://insightcrime.org/haiti-organized-crime-news/guy-philippe/

https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/08/world/a-leader-of-former-haitian-junta-is-charged-with-smuggling-tons-of-drugs-to-us.html

https://x.com/tv_elshaddai/status/1534018710947643392/video/1

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36882-haiti-flash-the-izo-gang-kidnaps-38-passengers-and-the-drivers-of-2-minibuses-video.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36809-haiti-news-zapping.html

https://gazettehaiti.com/index.php/node/7144