ANALYSIS: Haiti, the Country Where the State Has Given Way to Gangs

Maxime Marquette

2026-07-11 19:41:43

Haitian gangs, once fragmented into dozens of rival groups, have gradually united into larger, better-coordinated alliances—a development documented by the International Crisis Group in its report on the deadly criminal alliance that now shapes Haiti’s security landscape.

This consolidation has enabled armed groups to control not only isolated neighborhoods but entire strategic roadways, cutting off certain parts of the capital and making the movement of goods and people extremely perilous.

Territorial Control as an Economic Weapon

By controlling the main access roads to Port-au-Prince, gangs have gained the power to levy informal taxes on virtually all economic activity passing through these areas—a source of revenue that directly funds their armed operations.

This territorialized criminal economy transforms gangs into quasi-state actors, capable of extracting resources and imposing their own rules on populations that have no choice but to submit to them.

The Failure of National Security Forces

The Haitian National Police, which is under-equipped and vastly outnumbered, struggles to contain this territorial expansion by the gangs—a reality documented by numerous reports from human rights organizations operating on the ground.

This structural inability of law enforcement to regain control of the territory fuels a vicious cycle in which every lost area further strengthens the economic and military power of the armed groups that have established themselves there.

The Withdrawal of the MSS International Mission

The multinational security support mission, led by Kenya, was withdrawn from Haiti in April 2026, a departure that left an immediate security vacuum in a country already overwhelmed by gang violence. According to the Security Council Report, this withdrawal was perceived as an abandonment by a large portion of the Haitian civilian population.

This withdrawal can be partly attributed to budgetary and logistical constraints faced by the contributing countries, which were unable to sustain a prolonged military commitment without more substantial international financial support.

The Gang Suppression Force, Still in Its Infancy

To fill this void, the Security Council authorized, in September 2025 through Resolution 2793, the creation of a new gang suppression force, the GSF; however, its deployment remains at a very preliminary stage.

With approximately 1,000 personnel deployed to date, this force remains largely insufficient given the extent of territorial control exercised by armed groups in the Port-au-Prince region alone.

What This Security Shortfall Means in Practice

This lack of international security capacity leaves the Haitian civilian population largely left to fend for itself in the face of armed groups that are becoming increasingly well-organized and well-funded as a result of their growing territorial control.

This situation illustrates the structural limitations of underfunded international interventions, which are unable to produce a lasting impact without a long-term commitment that is truly commensurate with the scale of the crisis.

The humanitarian crisis, which is worsening every day

Beyond the direct violence, Haiti is facing one of the most severe humanitarian crises in the world, with massive population displacements, growing food insecurity, and a public health system largely disrupted by years of ongoing violence.

International humanitarian organizations are struggling to operate in this context, as their teams are themselves exposed to the risk of gang violence while traveling to provide assistance to the most vulnerable populations.

Humanitarian Funding: Chronically Insufficient

International humanitarian funding for Haiti remains chronically insufficient relative to actual needs, a situation exacerbated by across-the-board budget cuts affecting several UN agencies in recent months.

This chronic shortfall forces humanitarian organizations to make painful choices, prioritizing certain emergencies at the expense of other needs that are equally critical to the survival of affected populations.

Children: The First Silent Victims

Haitian children are paying a particularly heavy price for this crisis, facing forced recruitment by gangs, massive school dropout rates, and ongoing exposure to trauma documented by several child protection organizations.

This generation, growing up in an environment of chronic violence, will likely bear the psychological consequences of this crisis long after any potential stabilization of the security situation is achieved.

What neighboring countries are watching with concern

The crisis in Haiti is a direct concern for neighboring countries in the Caribbean region, particularly because of the migration flows it generates toward the Dominican Republic and other regional destinations facing increasing migratory pressure.

This regional dimension of the crisis further complicates its resolution, as each neighboring country has interests that sometimes diverge regarding the best approach to take in the face of Haiti’s persistent instability.

The Ambiguous Role of the International Community

The international community, while recognizing the gravity of the situation, is struggling to agree on a unified intervention strategy, as every option considered faces significant logistical, financial, or political obstacles.

This lack of international consensus delays any decisive action, allowing the Haitian crisis to worsen while diplomatic discussions continue without immediate concrete results on the ground.

The True Cost of International Inaction

Each additional month of international inaction further strengthens the gangs’ territorial control, making any future intervention to reclaim territory more costly and more complex to implement effectively.

This dynamic of continuous deterioration is gradually transforming a manageable crisis into a security challenge that could become irreversible in the medium term, according to several regional experts consulted.

Women and Girls: Specific Targets of Violence

Human rights organizations have documented the systematic use of sexual violence by gangs as a tool for territorial control and terror—a particularly brutal reality for women and girls living in contested areas of the capital.

This gendered dimension of violence in Haiti remains largely underreported in international media coverage, despite its scale being acknowledged by several reports from organizations specializing in the protection of civilian populations.

Access to Care: An Additional Challenge

Women who have survived violence struggle to access appropriate medical and psychological care, as health infrastructure is itself severely affected by the general insecurity and chronic lack of resources in the Haitian health system.

This lack of adequate care exacerbates the long-term consequences of this violence, leaving many victims without sufficient medical or psychological support for their recovery.

What Local Organizations Are Trying to Do

Despite limited resources, several local Haitian organizations continue to provide direct support to survivors of violence, often at the risk of their own social workers’ safety, who are exposed to gang reprisals.

This grassroots work, carried out under extremely difficult conditions, deserves greater international recognition and support than is currently available to these community-based organizations.

The informal economy that keeps the country going

Despite the collapse of formal institutions, a resilient informal economy continues to enable millions of Haitians to survive on a daily basis—a parallel system that partially compensates for the lack of functioning government services.

This informal sector, while essential to the population’s economic survival, remains extremely vulnerable to disruptions caused by gang clashes and to the tolls imposed by armed groups along trade routes.

The Role of the Haitian Diaspora

Remittances from the Haitian diaspora represent a crucial source of income for many families who have remained in the country—support that partially compensates for the collapse of local formal economic structures.

This dependence on remittances illustrates the structural fragility of a national economy largely supported from abroad, due to the lack of a sufficiently robust and secure domestic economic fabric.

What This Economic Resilience Reveals

The Haitian people’s ability to maintain informal economic activity despite the collapse of security is a testament to their remarkable resilience, but it cannot serve as a lasting substitute for a functional state and stable institutions.

Nor should this popular resilience serve as an excuse for international inaction, under the pretext that the population, despite everything, finds ways to survive on a daily basis.

Possible Scenarios for the Country's Future

Regional analysts are considering several scenarios for Haiti’s future, ranging from a significant strengthening of the international gang-suppression force to a more pessimistic scenario of prolonged territorial fragmentation of the country.

None of these scenarios currently appears to be favored by the international community, which remains divided on the extent of the financial and military commitment needed to sustainably reverse the current trajectory of the crisis.

The Scenario of Enhanced International Intervention

Some experts advocate for a massive and rapid reinforcement of the GSF force, with an expanded mandate and significantly increased resources, capable of regaining control of the strategic routes currently held by gangs.

This option, while potentially effective, would require a financial and political commitment that few contributing countries currently seem willing to make, given the considerable costs involved.

The risk of prolonged abandonment

Conversely, some observers fear that international fatigue in the face of this crisis could lead to a gradual withdrawal, allowing the gangs to permanently consolidate their territorial control over the entire country.

If this worst-case scenario were to materialize, it would transform Haiti into a territory permanently controlled by non-state actors, with potentially destabilizing long-term regional consequences.

Conclusion

Haiti is not simply falling apart. In the United Nations’ own words, the country has already largely collapsed, with the state reduced to isolated pockets of presence in a capital city 90 percent of which is controlled by armed groups. This reality, as harsh as it may be, deserves to be stated clearly rather than euphemized.

The international community still has a window of opportunity to act, but that window is closing as gangs consolidate their territorial and economic power. Without a financial and security commitment truly commensurate with the scale of the crisis, Haiti risks becoming the definitive example of a state that has ceased to exist due to the lack of an adequate international response.