Armed groups have taken control of most of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, leaving the city on the brink of total collapse, according to a senior UN official. Ghada Fathi Waly, executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, warned the UN Security Council that violence has escalated across the Caribbean nation, with at least 5,600 people killed in gang-related incidents in 2024 alone. The absence of a functioning central government since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021 has allowed armed gangs to expand their influence unchecked. In the absence of strong state institutions, these groups have grown in strength, seizing territory and increasingly operating as de facto governments across the country, particularly in the capital.
The gangs are continuing to establish their presence along strategic roads and border regions, expanding attacks not only into surrounding areas but also into previously peaceful territories. Southern Haiti, which until recently was relatively safe, has seen a sharp increase in gang-related incidents. In the east, criminal groups are exploiting land routes, including key crossings like Belladere and Malpasse, where attacks against police and customs officials have been reported. Criminal groups are setting up their own ‘parallel governance structures,’ which have undermined state authority. Their control over key trade routes has crippled legal commerce, driving up the cost of essential goods such as cooking fuel and rice.
The UN’s International Organization for Migration reported that the ongoing crisis has displaced a record 1.3 million people across the Caribbean state. The number of makeshift shelters has skyrocketed by more than 70%. The Kenyan-led, UN-supported mission in Haiti, which arrived in 2024 to help curb gang violence, has remained understaffed and underfunded, with only around 40% of the planned 2,500 personnel currently deployed. In February, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres proposed providing drones, fuel, transport, and other non-lethal assistance to bolster the mission, but the plan has stalled in the Security Council.