At least 70 civilians were killed in a massacre carried out by the Gran Grif gang in the rural village of Jean-Denis, Haiti, on 29 March, according to a Guardian investigation using verified videos, photographs, witness testimony and satellite imagery. The attack, which began at 2am, saw dozens of armed men in civilian clothes and bandanas swarm the village, shooting indiscriminately, setting homes ablaze, and killing residents as they fled.
Survivor Accounts Detail Horrific Violence
Merçide Daniel, a 45-year-old mother of four, described the assault: “Pow, pow, pow – quick gunfire coming towards us from all directions. It was the Gran Grif gang coming to take over our neighbourhood and turn it into a base.” She lost five family members – two uncles, an aunt and two cousins – three shot while escaping and two burned alive in their homes. “I had never seen anything like this before. It was a massacre,” she said.
Victims ranged from eight-year-old Berlancia Dor, shot in the chest while fleeing with her family, to 85-year-old Estimable Fils-Aimé, burned alive in his home. Marie Elvire Louis, 80, was shot in the neck and chest outside her front door. Gerno Théophile, 61, lost six relatives and his home. “I am so very angry,” he said, adding that he now sleeps on the streets with little state support.
Gang Violence Spreads Beyond Urban Centers
For years, gang warfare has ravaged Port-au-Prince, but groups are now pushing into Haiti’s rural heartland. In Artibonite, where Jean-Denis is located, violent incidents involving gangs and vigilante groups rose from 39 in 2021 to 238 in 2025, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project (ACLED). In Centre department, incidents increased from seven to 111 over the same period. Nationwide, violent incidents surged from 615 in 2021 to 1,626 in 2025, a 164% increase.
“Criminal groups are now present in five out of 10 of Haiti’s departments – the violence is definitely spreading,” said Nathalye Cotrino, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. Nearly 6,000 people died in gang violence in 2025, and more than 1.4 million people – over a tenth of the population – have been displaced, according to the UN.
Gangs Exploit Strategic Routes and Impunity
Gangs are entrenching themselves along key transit routes in and out of Port-au-Prince and the Dominican Republic border, using them for drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, and extortion. “There’s been a big increase of gangs fighting for control of key roads and junctions. Why? Because they’re money-making,” said William O’Neill, the UN expert on human rights in Haiti. The UN warned in December that Haiti is “rapidly becoming a central hub” for international drug trafficking.
Pierre Espérance, executive director of Haiti’s National Human Rights Defence Network, described the terror: “They are kidnapping people. They are burning churches and schools, they are burning houses with people inside them. They are massacring, killing, raping.”
Security Operations Fail to Stem Expansion
The Multinational Security Support mission (MSS), led by Kenyan police and funded by the US, was deployed in 2024 but formally left in April without curbing gang expansion. A new UN-backed Gang Suppression Force is expected, but will not reach its planned 5,500 personnel until autumn. Meanwhile, gangs are exploiting the transition. “The gangs are trying to test capacity and willingness. They are acting more aggressively to see what the reaction will be,” O’Neill said.
According to Human Rights Watch, at least 1,243 people were killed in 141 drone-strike operations between March 2025 and January 2026. However, analysts say state focus on Port-au-Prince leaves rural areas vulnerable. “Port-au-Prince gangs appear to be expanding into Sud-Est, where they face less pressure from law enforcement operations,” said Sandra Pellegrini, senior Latin American analyst at ACLED.
Judicial System Collapse Fuels Impunity
Ulrick Tintin, director of legal affairs at Défenseurs Plus, a Haitian human rights organisation, said: “Impunity is why the violence continues to worsen every day.” Few gang leaders are arrested or prosecuted, allowing armed groups to operate with little fear. “There is no life in Haiti. The people have been abandoned,” Espérance added.
