What is happening in Haiti's gang crisis and who is fighting it?
Armed gangs control most of Haiti's capital and are spreading into the countryside. In the past two weeks an ambush on foreign troops, a Salvadoran deployment of more than 2,000 soldiers and another election delay have changed the picture.
THE SHORT ANSWER
Armed gangs control an estimated 70 percent of Port-au-Prince, and the foreign force sent to push them back is still too small to do it. That force, the Gang Suppression Force, has reached just over a third of its planned size. On 18 October gangs ambushed it and four Salvadoran technicians went missing. El Salvador has since sent more than 2,000 soldiers to look for them. Haiti's election council has moved the vote to July 2027, saying gang violence makes voting unsafe.
What happened
On Sunday 18 October, four Salvadoran aviation technicians serving with the Gang Suppression Force (GSF) were driving back to their base from a market in an armoured vehicle. Armed men ambushed them in Croix-des-Bouquets, east of the capital, Port-au-Prince. The vehicle caught fire after being hit by explosives, and the men fled it. They have been missing since. No group has claimed the attack. Al Jazeera described it as the first major attack since the force began operating. On 21 October, El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, said he had launched a military operation to rescue them. He wrote to the gangs: "We have already finished with the gangs in El Salvador, and we can finish with you too."
Earlier this week, according to the BBC, Haiti handed four bodies to Salvadoran special forces as those of the missing men. Bukele said they did not match, since one was a child's and another wore another country's military uniform. On Wednesday 28 October, El Salvador's foreign ministry said Bukele had told Haiti's prime minister, Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, that more than 2,000 soldiers were being sent. They are to look for the four men and to help with security operations against gangs. Reuters reports that El Salvador has not made clear the troops' command structure, how long they will stay or what they will do. Fils-Aimé's office has not said whether they will join the GSF or operate separately.
The same day, Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council, the nine-member body that organises votes, published a new calendar. The first round of presidential and legislative elections moves from 13 December to 18 July 2027. A second round and local elections follow on 4 October 2027. Voter registration closes on 20 May, and the final candidate list is expected by mid-January.
Why it matters
Haiti's gangs are no longer only a problem for Haitians. A foreign force meant to contain them is now under attack, and the hostages give the gangs leverage over the governments that sent troops. The UN says more than 5,700 people have been killed in gang-related violence in Haiti this year. Gangs are also stepping up reprisals against civilians and reaching into rural areas. With no elected president since 2021, the plan to restore elected government depends on the security situation improving, and that has not happened yet.
- For the four missing men and their families, the reports so far do not say whether the men are alive. Bukele has said that if all four come back unharmed, "everything will go back to how it was before the kidnapping".
- For Haitian civilians, more than a million people have been displaced, and gang-held roads make it hard to reach registration centres. Fighting in crowded areas such as Croix-des-Bouquets puts residents at risk, and the GSF has told people there to stay indoors.
- For the Gang Suppression Force, the expert Romain Le Cour says Salvadoran troops will outnumber the force's own personnel, raising questions about its authority and coherence. That is his view, and the reports do not say how the two will be organised.
- For Haiti's voters, the delay keeps an unelected prime minister in charge for months longer. Fewer than 900,000 people had registered by Wednesday, out of 6.5 million who hold the identification cards needed to enrol.
The background: armed groups, a political vacuum and a force that never reached full strength
Independence and a long record of upheaval
Haiti was the French colony of Saint-Domingue until it gained independence in 1804. It became the second state in the Americas, after the United States, to break from a European colonial power. The nineteenth century brought revolts and a series of short-lived presidents. In 1915 the United States occupied the country, after seven Haitian presidents had been deposed by assassination or coup between 1911 and 1914. The occupation ended in 1934.
From 1957 François Duvalier, known as Papa Doc, ran a dictatorship regarded as one of the most repressive and corrupt in the region. After his death in 1971, power passed to his son Jean-Claude, who was removed in 1986.
Armed groups before the gangs
Armed groups have been firmly established in Haiti since the 1950s. The Duvalier dictatorship created the Tonton Macoute paramilitaries to violently suppress dissidents. When Jean-Claude Duvalier fell in 1986, the Tonton Macoute were disbanded but never disarmed, and they reorganised as far-right vigilantes. Haitian political actors went on using armed groups to defend their interests and to manipulate elections.
That is the long-term setting for today's gangs. The reports we have do not say how directly one led to the other, so this is context rather than a claimed cause.
The killing of a president and the gangs' rise
Jovenel Moïse took office as president on 7 February 2017, after a 2015 election was annulled and a new vote held in November 2016. His time in office brought violent protests and a dispute over when his term ended. In 2020, rival gang groupings were already clashing in Port-au-Prince. In June 2020 nine gangs announced the G9 alliance, led by the former police officer Jimmy Chérizier. Its member gangs all had previous links to Moïse's ruling party.
Moïse was assassinated at his home on 7 July 2021. Ariel Henry became acting prime minister and later governed without an election. The gangs exploited the government's weakness, and violence rose. By 2022, researchers estimated about 200 gangs operated across Haiti, half of them in Port-au-Prince. The national police shrank by more than 7,000 personnel after 2021, leaving about 9,000 officers by the end of 2023 for a country of over 11 million.
A foreign force with too few troops
On 2 October 2023 the UN Security Council passed Resolution 2699, approving a Kenya-led Multinational Security Support Mission. It was endorsed by the UN but is not a UN operation. It was to help Haitian police counter gangs and create conditions for free and fair elections. On 29 February 2024 a wave of violence broke out while Henry was in Kenya, and the G9 joined another gang grouping to form the Viv Ansanm alliance. Henry's tenure as acting prime minister ended on 24 April 2024. Kenya's first 400 police officers landed on 26 June 2024.
The mission was short of money and equipment. As of October 2024 it had received $85 million against an estimated annual budget of $600 million. In June 2025 Kenya's president, William Ruto, said it had made little progress. Its first fatality came in February 2025. In October 2025 the Security Council passed Resolution 2793, turning it into the Gang Suppression Force, initially planned at 5,500 personnel. The first Chadian troops arrived on 1 April 2026.
The weeks leading to now
On 24 August, gunmen attacked a church sheltering displaced people in Kenscoff, killing at least 47 and sparking anger over police failures. On 29 September the UN extended the GSF's mandate to March 2027, with the force still under a third of its intended size.
In early October the election council postponed the 13 December vote indefinitely. Then came the 18 October ambush, Bukele's operation and the 28 October announcements of the Salvadoran deployment and the new election dates.
GOOD TO KNOW
Bukele wrote his 21 October threat to the gangs in Haitian Creole, the language most Haitians speak, according to Al Jazeera.
What is the Gang Suppression Force?
The Gang Suppression Force is an international police and military force approved by the UN Security Council. It was previously called the Multinational Security Support Mission. It works with the Haitian National Police and is endorsed by the UN, but it is not a UN operation. Its powers were widened in October 2025 so it can run intelligence-based operations on its own or with Haitian forces.
Troops have come from several countries, including Chad and Sri Lanka, and Salvadoran personnel serve in it. Reporting says it has struggled to get into areas gangs hold. In the Wikipedia account, Kenya's police mission is due to end in 2026. Whether the new Salvadoran troops will be part of this force is not yet clear.
Why do Haiti's elections keep being postponed?
Haiti has held no elections since 2016. Successive transitional leaders have postponed a vote, citing insecurity as armed groups expand their territory. Foreign troops have served in Haiti since 2024 partly to make a secure and credible vote possible.
The practical problems are visible in the registration figures. Gang-controlled roads make it hard to reach registration centres, and violence has driven many people from their homes. The council has extended some deadlines and introduced online registration.
Timeline: 1804 to today
INDEPENDENCE AND EARLY UPHEAVAL
Dessalines proclaims Haiti an independent state, the second in the Americas after the United States.
The United States occupies Haiti after seven presidents were violently deposed between 1911 and 1914; the occupation lasts until 1934.
François Duvalier is elected and sets up a dictatorship that uses the Tonton Macoute paramilitaries against dissidents.
Jean-Claude Duvalier is removed; the Tonton Macoute are disbanded but never disarmed.
THE GANGS GAIN GROUND
Jovenel Moïse takes office as president.
Nine gangs announce the G9 alliance, led by Jimmy Chérizier.
President Moïse is assassinated at his home, leaving a political vacuum.
The UN Security Council approves a Kenya-led security mission to help Haitian police.
FOREIGN FORCES ARRIVE
A wave of violence breaks out while Prime Minister Ariel Henry is in Kenya, and the G9 joins another group to form Viv Ansanm.
The first 400 Kenyan police officers land in Port-au-Prince.
The mission suffers its first fatality when a Kenyan police officer is killed in a gunfight.
Resolution 2793 turns the mission into the Gang Suppression Force, initially planned at 5,500 personnel.
The first Chadian troops of the Gang Suppression Force arrive in Haiti.
AUTUMN 2026
Gunmen attack a church sheltering displaced people in Kenscoff, killing at least 47.
The UN extends the Gang Suppression Force's mandate to March 2027.
Haiti's election council postpones the 13 December vote indefinitely.
Gangs ambush an armoured vehicle in Croix-des-Bouquets and four Salvadoran technicians go missing.
Bukele announces a military operation to rescue the four men and threatens the gangs.
El Salvador announces more than 2,000 troops for Haiti, and the election council sets the first round for 18 July 2027.
What to watch next
- The four missing men. Their fate is unknown, and Bukele has said the bodies handed over do not match them.
- The Salvadoran troops' role. Reports say it is unclear whether they will join the Gang Suppression Force or operate separately, and El Salvador has not given their command structure or length of stay.
- Election preparations. The council expects to publish the final candidate list by mid-January, and voter registration closes on 20 May.
- The force's mandate. The UN extended the Gang Suppression Force's mandate to March 2027, and Bangladesh and Sri Lanka began deploying troops in October, according to Wikipedia.
Sources
- ABC News29 OCT 2026
- Al Jazeera29 OCT 2026
- BBC29 OCT 2026
- The Straits Times29 OCT 2026
- BBC22 OCT 2026
- Al Jazeera22 OCT 2026
- Euronews22 OCT 2026
- CBC21 OCT 2026
- arabnews.com21 OCT 2026
How this article was made: Implica's editorial system wrote it from the news reports above, with the background drawn from Wikipedia: History of Haiti, Assassination of Jovenel Moïse, Haitian conflict, Gang Suppression Force.