49 DEAD in Explosive Gang Power Struggle

A deadly power struggle within Haiti’s most powerful gang coalition has erupted into brutal street warfare, leaving dozens dead and exposing the complete collapse of law and order in a nation where criminal organizations now control 90% of the capital.

Story Snapshot

At least 49 people killed in internal gang warfare as Viv Ansanm coalition fractures
Key gang leader Kempes Sanon injured and overthrown by subordinates during hospitalization
High-ranking gang figure beheaded while 19 women executed seeking medical care
Violence threatens fragile political transition as gangs maintain de facto control over Port-au-Prince

Gang Coalition Fragments in Bloody Power Grab

Armed men who broke away from the Viv Ansanm (“Live Together”) gang coalition launched coordinated attacks against their former allies in Port-au-Prince, killing at least 49 people including children and civilians. The Committee for Peace and Development documented horrific violence as bodies were burned and mutilated during the ongoing clashes. This internal fracture represents a dangerous escalation within Haiti’s most powerful criminal alliance, designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the United States.

Leadership Coup Destabilizes Criminal Hierarchy

Former police officer Kempes Sanon, a key Viv Ansanm leader with networks inside government institutions, was injured during the fighting and subsequently overthrown by two lieutenants known as Jamesly and Ti Gason. While Sanon received medical treatment, his subordinates executed what amounts to an internal coup, seizing control of his operations. The UN has identified Sanon as playing a significant role in consolidating gang power throughout Port-au-Prince, making his displacement a potentially destabilizing factor for the broader criminal ecosystem.

The allied Krache Dife gang demonstrated the coalition’s ruthless internal discipline by allegedly executing 19 women who were partners of gang members while they sought medical care for the wounded. A high-ranking figure known as Dèdè was killed and beheaded in the Bel-Air slum, signaling both the ferocity of the conflict and the systematic elimination of rival leaders.

State Authority Remains Nonexistent as Violence Escalates

The Haitian National Police and international forces have failed to reassert control over the conflict zones, with hundreds of civilians sheltering in place amid shortages of food and medicine. Haiti’s nine-member Transitional Presidential Council, tasked with organizing elections, remains powerless to address the security crisis affecting areas already facing hunger emergencies. The violence threatens to further undermine preparations for general elections and highlights the complete breakdown of governmental authority in the capital.

This internal gang warfare reverses earlier reductions in inter-coalition fighting that occurred when Viv Ansanm formed in September 2023. The coalition initially reduced direct clashes among member gangs while maintaining high levels of violence against civilians through extortion, kidnapping, and territorial expansion into provincial regions.