One of the most disturbing dimensions of Haiti’s gang crisis in 2020 was the growing evidence of connections between criminal networks and political elites — a dynamic in which gangs provided muscle for political mobilization while political figures provided protection, resources, and impunity for gang leaders. Several human rights investigations published in 2020 documented these connections in specific detail, naming political figures alleged to have relationships with gang networks.
The alliance between gangs and political actors was not new in Haiti — the use of armed groups for political purposes had deep historical roots going back to the Duvalier era’s tonton macoutes and the post-Duvalier period’s chimères. But the scale and sophistication of the gang-politics nexus in 2020 had reached new levels, with gangs that controlled significant territories and commanded substantial arsenals becoming important power brokers in Port-au-Prince politics.
Human Rights Watch and other organizations documented specific incidents in which gangs had conducted attacks in coordination with political actors seeking to intimidate opponents or control communities. The Bwa Kale and La Saline massacres, in which dozens of people were killed in 2018 and 2019, were linked by investigators to political figures as well as to criminal networks.
The impunity enjoyed by those who used gang violence for political ends was a fundamental obstacle to both security reform and political progress. Without accountability for political figures who deployed gangs, the incentive to maintain these relationships would persist, and the cycle of violence and political dysfunction would continue.