Haiti Under Siege by Gangs: Terror, Extortion, and International Sanctions Amid State Paralysis

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Monday, December 15, 2025 – The European Union's decision to impose targeted sanctions against former and current heavyweights of Haitian political life, ex-president Michel Martelly, ex-senator Youri Latortue, and senator Rony Célestin, as well as against Johnson André's "5 Segond" gang, alias Izo, acts as a mirror reflecting the country's reality. It officially sanctions what millions of Haitians endure daily: a security crisis of unprecedented brutality, where armed gangs no longer merely sow terror but have institutionalized a system of extortion and territorial control that supplants state authority. A Country Locked Down by Gang Violence The security situation in Haiti, particularly in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, has reached a point of no return. Shifting alliances of armed gangs, often better equipped than the police, now control the majority of the capital. They impose their law through extreme violence: targeted or random assassinations, mass kidnappings for ransom, rapes used as weapons of war, and systematic looting. United Nations figures are stark: thousands dead since the beginning of the year, over 300,000 internally displaced persons fleeing gang-controlled neighborhoods, and a paralyzed economy. The "Taxation" of Survival: Payment Checkpoints for Movement The most revealing aspect of this total takeover is the systematization of extortion. To survive, civilians must pay – literally. Gangs have set up permanent checkpoints at the entrances and exits of neighborhoods, on main thoroughfares, and even near markets and some hospitals. At these "tolls," everyone is subjected: moto-taxis, cargo trucks, buses providing links to provincial areas, ambulances, families going to funerals or simply looking for water, trying to live somewhere other than in a capital controlled and suffocated by gangs. The fees are variable and arbitrary, ranging from a few dozen to several thousand gourdes. Refusing to pay means risking immediate death, kidnapping, or the burning of one's vehicle. This system has transformed simple mobility, a fundamental right, into a monetized privilege, suffocating the informal economy, hindering humanitarian aid, and plunging families into a vicious cycle of fear and impoverishment. Sanctions Highlighting Links Between Gangs and Power It is in this context that the European Union's sanctions take on their full meaning. Brussels is not only sanctioning acts of violence but explicitly denouncing the links between certain political actors, who claim to want to protect the population, and armed groups. By targeting figures like Michel Martelly, Youri Latortue, and Rony Célestin, the EU accuses these individuals of "maintaining links with armed groups and criminal activities." These sanctions, asset freezes and travel bans, confirm long-standing allegations made by civil society organizations and the media concerning the financing, arming, and political protection of gangs serving electoral or economic interests. The message is clear: a segment of the political elite is now considered complicit in the country's security collapse. An Overwhelmed National Police and Total Impunity Faced with this hydra, the Haitian National Police (PNH), under-equipped, underpaid, and demoralized, seems powerless. Sporadic operations, such as the recent raid by the DCPJ on the premises occupied by Youri Chevry, current tenant of the Port-au-Prince city hall, appear paltry in scale compared to the challenge. Impunity remains the rule. Gang leaders operate openly, some leading ostentatious media lives on social networks. The judicial system, also a victim of violence and corruption, is paralyzed, unable to prosecute and condemn those responsible. A Humanitarian Crisis and Questionable International Response The consequences extend far beyond security. Haiti faces a major humanitarian crisis, with acute food insecurity affecting nearly half the population. Women and young girls resort to prostitution in the hope of obtaining food, while many young men see gangs as the only possible way to survive. While sanctions constitute a necessary political signal, they will not be enough to disarm gangs or restore order. The international community, through the currently deployed police support mission, faces the complexity of the terrain and the distrust of a segment of the population. The Urgency of Breaking the System The Haitian crisis is no longer just a "security crisis." It represents the complete failure of the social contract. Gangs are not an anomaly: they have become the de facto authority in vast areas of the country, with their own predatory economy and summary justice. The European Union's sanctions are a first step to target the funders and protectors of this system. But the challenge remains colossal: breaking the infernal cycle of violence, impunity, and poverty requires much more than a police response. It necessitates a coordinated strategy, endowed with massive resources, aimed at restoring security, rebuilding credible justice, and addressing the deep roots of the crisis: systemic corruption, extreme poverty, and the complete divorce between the state and its population. As long as Haitians have to pay gangs to get bread or take their children to the hospital, no exit from the crisis will be possible.