PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The United Nations has revised the death toll of a recent massacre in Haiti, where a gang targeted older individuals and Vodou religious leaders, urging authorities to bring the culprits to justice.
The U.N. Integrated Office in Haiti revealed in a report released on Monday that the Wharf Jeremie gang was responsible for the deaths of over 207 people between December 6 and 11. The gang perpetrated horrific acts, abducting victims from their residences and places of worship, subjecting them to interrogation, and ultimately executing them using firearms and machetes.
Earlier estimates by human rights organizations in Haiti had put the death toll from the massacre at over 100 individuals. However, the latest U.N. investigation has doubled the number of confirmed victims of this brutal attack.
María Isabel Salvador, the U.N. secretary-general’s special representative in Haiti, emphasized, “We cannot turn a blind eye to these atrocities.” She called upon the Haitian justice system to conduct a thorough investigation into these heinous crimes, apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators, as well as those who aided and abetted them.
Reports from human rights groups in Haiti suggest that the massacre was triggered by the death of Micanor Altès’ son, the leader of the Wharf Jeremie gang, due to an illness. Subsequently, Altès reportedly accused individuals in the community of causing his son’s illness, leading to a brutal retaliation against elderly community members and Vodou practitioners.
The Cooperative for Peace and Development, a human rights organization, stated that Altès believed that these individuals possessed the ability to cast malevolent spells, prompting him to launch a campaign of ruthless punishment.
In the U.N.’s report released on Monday, it was detailed how Altès’ gang tracked down victims in their homes and places of worship, interrogated them, and then transported them to execution sites. The gang attempted to conceal evidence of their crimes by incinerating bodies or dismembering them and disposing of them in the sea.
This massacre serves as the latest in a series of humanitarian crises in Haiti, as gang violence has surged following the assassination of the country’s president during a coup attempt in 2021. Haiti continues to grapple with political instability, with efforts to organize elections and restore democratic governance facing significant challenges.
Presently, a transitional council oversees the governance of the Caribbean nation, comprising representatives from the business sector, civil society, and political parties. However, the government’s authority is limited, particularly in certain areas of the capital where gangs frequently clash over control of crucial infrastructure and neighborhoods.
According to the United Nations, the ongoing gang conflicts in Haiti have resulted in the deaths of over 5,350 individuals this year alone. The Haitian government acknowledged the massacre of older community members in a statement issued earlier, pledging to hold those responsible for this incomprehensible violence accountable.
