Haiti’s National Police say gang leader Mathias Saintil was “neutralised” in a recent operation, according to an Al Jazeera report.
What happened
The police announced the operation in a social media post on Friday. They described Saintil as the leader of the Boston gang, named after a neighbourhood in Cité Soleil, a poor district of Port-au-Prince. He was reportedly hit by multiple bullets, and a police source said he later died in hospital. Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé welcomed the news online, writing “One less gang leader” and “The gangs won’t be able to sleep!”
Gang violence
Violence has surged in Haiti since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, and no national elections have been held since. Up to 90 percent of Port-au-Prince is reportedly under gang control, and the UN says at least 26 gangs operate in and around the capital. At least 1.4 million people have been displaced. Between July and October, the UN counted 1,123 people killed and 440 injured.
International force
The international Gang Suppression Force began arriving in April, and the UN Security Council extended its mandate until March 2027. It faces problems with resources and staffing, like the earlier Kenyan-led mission. On 18 October, four Salvadoran aviation technicians involved in the force were kidnapped, and El Salvador has deployed as many as 2,000 troops to Haiti.
Source: Al Jazeera reporting. Image: file photo of Port-au-Prince. Photo: Yoni Rubin, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
