Haiti gangs under pressure but adapting to crackdown: UN report

UNITED NATIONS - Anti-gang operations in Haiti have halted the powerful armed groups' expansion in the capital, but progress remains uneven and they are adapting, a UN expert report said Tuesday.

The poorest country in the Americas, Haiti has faced a deep security crisis for years, with gangs who control the vast majority of the capital Port-au-Prince committing frequent murders, rapes and kidnappings.

"Intensified security efforts by Haitian authorities, alongside nearly a year of drone strikes enabled by international private contractors, and the actions of self-defence groups, have slowed the advance of gangs in the capital," according to the report by experts monitoring UN Security Council sanctions in Haiti.

"Security gains remain, however, fragile and risk reversal without sustained pressure," it continued, noting gangs are adapting to the crackdown.

Gang leaders, many of whom remain at large, "have become more cautious in response to drone threats, avoiding public appearances and social media," the report said.

Facing pressure in the city center, gangs have been driven "into remote and semi-urban areas, where they have enjoyed relative freedom in their criminal operation."

This has forced security forces to "redeploy" in new locales, the report said, "undermining their ability to hold recaptured territory in other areas."

As security operations target gangs' money-making highway checkpoints, the groups have "tightened their control" over facilities where Haitians collect remittances, the report noted.

Gang members have also extorted civilians while disguised as police, including through kidnappings for ransom.

The report flagged a "significant number of casualties, including among non-gang members" from the security operations, which for the last year have been backed by private military contractors.

A report by UN rights chief Volker Turk published last month said 5,519 people were killed in Haiti between March 2025 and mid-January 2026.

The majority of those deaths -- at least 3,497 -- were the result of anti-gang operations, though that count includes both civilians and gang members.

"They have leveraged collateral damage from drone strikes...to strengthen their local control," the report said, including offering financing for medical costs or funerals to civilians affected by the operations.

Gangs have also increased the recruitment of children, the report said, "using them in combat and to shield themselves from law enforcement operations."