PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — UN Secretary-General António Guterres traveled to Haiti on Tuesday, arriving in a country where out-of-control gang violence has left more than one in ten people without a home.
Newly released UN data paints a grim picture: 2,300 Haitians have lost their lives so far this year, another 100 have been kidnapped, and 1.5 million people have been forced from their homes. Among those abducted is James Boyard, cabinet director of the Defense Ministry, who was seized last week in one of the capital’s few relatively stable neighborhoods.
The Secretary-General’s single-day stop in Port-au-Prince followed a violent weekend in Cité Soleil, a coastal slum, where more than 30 people were killed, wounded, or reported missing, according to the Cooperative for Peace and Development, a local human rights organization.
During his motorcade through the city, Guterres passed through areas once entirely under gang control — neighborhoods marked by gutted car dealerships, deserted homes, and concrete buildings riddled with bullet holes. A colorful local bus called a tap-tap rolled by, its windshield shattered by gunfire.
On a crumbling concrete wall, graffiti declared: “Down with Viv Ansanm, long live the police.” Viv Ansanm is a powerful gang alliance that the U.S. government has designated a foreign terrorist organization. The group is believed to control roughly 70% of Port-au-Prince.
Along the route, Guterres passed scores of Haitians who had escaped the fighting and are now sheltering in makeshift dwellings — canvas sheets strung up with worn rope.
More than 300,000 people have been displaced by gang violence throughout Port-au-Prince, a record high. That number includes over 18,000 people who fled Cité Soleil in May alone, according to the UN International Organization for Migration.
“Haiti’s displacement crisis is entering an even more alarming phase,” said Gregoire Goodstein, IOM chief of mission in Haiti, in a recent statement.
Guterres’ first stop was the headquarters of a newly established gang-suppression force approved by the UN Security Council in September. The force replaces a UN-backed mission led by Kenyan police that had struggled with inadequate funding and staffing. So far, Jamaica, Chad, El Salvador, and Guatemala have each contributed troops, bringing the total force to fewer than 1,000 personnel. The unit is expected to begin full operations within the coming weeks.
The new force is set to work alongside Haiti’s National Police and its expanding Armed Forces. Hundreds of Haitian men — and a few women — were seen lined up along a dusty road hoping to be interviewed for positions in the military.
Guterres then held a private meeting with Prime Minister Alix Didier-Fils-Aimé, who faces mounting pressure to organize elections in a country of nearly 12 million that has been without a president since Jovenel Moïse was assassinated at his private residence in July 2021.
“We had a frank conversation about what’s happening in Haiti, the vision the government has for the future,” Fils-Aimé told the Associated Press following the meeting.
The prime minister said security remains the top priority so the transitional government can move forward with elections and “get back to republican rule.” He added that Guterres could support that goal by making sure the nations backing the gang-suppression force “live up to their engagement.”
Guterres also visited a makeshift shelter set up inside a former school, where dozens of displaced residents crowded around him. Some had been living there for as long as four years after gangs attacked and burned their communities.
“Solino is not ready,” said 31-year-old Clifford Lala, referring to his neighborhood — one of the last areas in Port-au-Prince before gangs overran it.
Inside a sweltering classroom, Guterres met privately with six women who described the lack of basic privacy at the shelter — even for bathing or using the restroom — and expressed deep concern for their young children.
“It’s skin-to-skin and mouth-to-mouth,” one woman said.
The shelter is home to more than 1,200 people sleeping side by side, with only one meal a day guaranteed.
“We’re going to do our best,” Guterres told the women.
Outside, a man began striking the building’s metal walls and shouted, “We want to go back home!” His voice grew louder and more desperate as security personnel entered the room and escorted Guterres out.
Wendy Cejour, 26, told the AP that he and his family have been staying at the school for a year and a half.
“As long as we’re alive we have hope, but … things are difficult,” he said. “We ask … to return to our neighborhood to live better, because we don’t have a life here.”
The day before Guterres arrived, Human Rights Watch published an open letter urging him to prioritize protecting civilians and addressing the root causes of violence and human rights abuses. The group also called for a “full-fledged U.N. mission” to be deployed in Haiti.
“Even when fully staffed and resourced, security measures alone will not suffice to address this situation,” the organization wrote.
“Any meaningful strategy should include effective protection for victims of violence, credible pathways for disengagement from criminal groups, accountability for abuses, and a coordinated humanitarian response to help restore access to basic goods and services.”
