Drone strikes conducted by Haitian security forces and private contractors have killed at least 1,243 people and injured 738 others between March 2025 and January 2026, according to a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) released on Tuesday. Among the dead were 17 children and 43 adults not believed to be gang members; at least 49 of the injured were civilians.
The report highlights a sharp increase in drone attacks in Port-au-Prince, where gangs control 90% of the capital. HRW documented 57 attacks from November to late January, nearly double the 29 recorded from August to October 2025. Researchers analysed seven videos showing armed quadcopter drones striking vehicles and people, many of whom did not appear to pose an imminent threat.
One attack on 20 September 2025 in the impoverished Simon Pele neighbourhood killed nine people, including three children, and injured eight others. The strike occurred as a gang leader prepared to distribute gifts to children. A resident described how the explosion ripped both feet off a baby. The mother of a six-year-old girl killed in the attack said: 'In the spaces where the gangs are, there are innocent people.'
HRW noted that families of victims faced restrictions on funerals, with only those accepting money or support from gangs allowed to attend. On 1 January 2026, a woman reported seeing a drone drop an explosive onto a truck carrying her cousin, killing her. The rights group stated that many attacks 'amount to unlawful, extrajudicial killings'.
Haiti's government created a task force last year, operating outside police oversight, that uses explosive drones. The force includes police units and private contractors, such as Vectus Global, the security firm of former US Navy Seal Erik Prince, which planned to deploy nearly 200 personnel. The UN-backed mission led by Kenyan police remains underfunded and understaffed, and is expected to transform into a gang suppression force.
HRW urged Haitian authorities to rein in security forces and ensure transparency and accountability for unlawful deaths. UN human rights chief Volker Turk has called the use of lethal force against gangs 'unnecessary, disproportionate and likely a violation of international law'.
