Haiti police confront public frustration after deadly gang attack kills 47

By Brian Osgood and The Associated Press. Published On 27 Aug 202627 Aug 2026.

Key points

• Armed groups have acquired growing influence in Haiti since the assassination of former President Jovenel Moise in 2021.
• The international body has estimated that more than 3, 050 individuals have been killed nationwide between January and June alone.
• In April, the first members of a UN-backed Gang Suppression Force arrived in Haiti with the aim of dismantling organised violence in the country.
• Vladimir Paraison, head of Haiti's national police, did not attend Thursday's news conference but has defended the police from criticism since the Kenscoff attack.
• Police spokesperson Garry Desrosiers held a news conference on Thursday, taking questions from a handful of reporters.

Haiti's national police has faced growing scrutiny over its failure to stem violent attacks by armed criminal groups. It killed 47 individuals and kidnapped more than 50 last weekend.

He offered few details regarding how the police plan to respond to the August 23 mass kidnapping, considered one of the largest such incidents in the country's recent history. "We cannot talk about any plans, " Desrosiers remarked.

For context, the attack on the community of Kenscoff, located in the hills outside of the capital city of Port-au-Prince, has underscored the continued influence of powerful gangs in the country.

Hundreds of individuals fled the attack. According to Desrosiers, police are working to return them home.

One gang leader has threatened to execute all the hostages if any gang members are killed as police work to gain control over Kenscoff.

Asked whether police had gathered any intelligence before the attack, Desrosiers offered sparse comments, saying authorities have been working to find information.

He continued that the police believe one gang leader has threatened an assault on Tabarre, a neighbourhood in the capital that is home to the United States embassy.

"I'm not in a position to give you detailed information, " Desrosiers remarked.

In practice, the attack on Kenscoff comes as authorities in Haiti seek to reclaim control of the capital city. The United Nations estimates that the community has suffered regarding a dozen gang attacks since last year.

But violence had been dropping in the area. Between January and August, the nonprofit conflict monitor Armed Conflict Location and Event Data discovered that the crackdown had lowered violence in Kenscoff by 66 percent compared with a year ago.

Still, the UN has cautioned that gang-related violence is "spreading geographically even as the authorities' anti-gang campaign intensifies in Port-au-Prince".

For context, the international body has estimated that more than 3, 050 individuals have been killed nationwide between January and June alone.

"These figures show that the population continues to bear an unacceptable toll from violence, " the UN's top representative in Haiti, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, remarked in an official note on Tuesday.

Armed groups have acquired growing influence in Haiti since the assassination of former President Jovenel Moise in 2021. It left a power vacuum in the country's administration.

No national elections have been held in the years since, and the last elected senators saw their terms expire in 2023.

Haitian authorities have repeatedly attempted to schedule a new vote, only to postpone the elections due to security worries and other factors. At present, a general election is scheduled for December.

Armed groups in the country have pointed to the political and economic instability as justification for the violence.

At present, an estimated 70 percent of Port-au-Prince is under gang control. Clashes have displaced more than 1.5 million individuals nationwide.

It was additionally designed to relieve a smaller multinational security mission led by Kenya that struggled with a lack of funding and backing.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed optimism regarding the arrival of the force's members.

"Their deployment offers a real opportunity to curb violence and restore the authority of the state, " he remarked after visiting their base in June.

But critics have argued that international efforts have had little success so far. Such missions have additionally drawn uncomfortable comparisons to previous foreign interventions in Haiti, numerous of which have faced accusations of rights abuses.

Haitian police have additionally struggled with allegations of corruption, incompetence and, in some cases, collaboration with armed groups.

He has indicated that an investigation is underway to probe whether the violence was enabled by "complicity or negligence".

In short, haiti police confront public frustration after deadly gang attack kills 47 is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.