Dialogue with Gangs: OAS Proposal Clashes with Haitian Authorities

The new OAS Secretary-General, Albert Ramdin, has triggered a shockwave in Haiti after opening the door to a potential dialogue with armed groups. This idea was immediately rejected by the transitional authorities, who view it as a red line not to be crossed. The question of whether to negotiate with armed gangs controlling a large part of Haitian territory is deeply divisive. On June 9, 2025, Albert Ramdin, recently appointed head of the Organization of American States (OAS), stated his intention to use all available options to restore stability in Haiti — including dialogue with gang leaders. However, for the Transitional Presidential Council (CPT), this suggestion is unacceptable. In a statement dated June 11, the Haitian Presidency issued a categorical refusal to any attempt at negotiation with those it describes as «sowers of death.» The CPT believes that dialogue with the perpetrators of atrocities would amount to legitimizing the terror that has undermined Haitian society for years. «Haitian society, in all its components, has suffered deeply from the insecurity imposed by gangs,» the CPT recalls. «To dialogue with them would be to betray the victims.» A Clear Dividing Line This stance is not isolated. Well before the official reaction, Lesly Voltaire, one of the members of the Presidential Council, had also expressed his profound opposition to the OAS's approach. In an unambiguous declaration, he called the gangs «terrorists» and stated that «peace is not built by making pacts with those who destroy the country.» It should be recalled that Haitian gangs were designated as international terrorist groups by the United States early last May. «Every day, police officers and soldiers fall to bullets. Children sleep in the streets, families flee red zones. It is with citizens that we must dialogue, not with those who terrorize them,» he declared. A Social Initiative in Response Rather than opening a channel for discussion with gang leaders, the CPT states it is focusing on prevention and reintegration. It announced the upcoming establishment of a national commission tasked with creating reception and rehabilitation centers for young people forcibly enrolled in armed groups. The damage caused by gangs is enormous, triggering a rising humanitarian crisis, with nearly 1.3 million displaced people during the last 6 months of the year. Wideberlin Senexant