The new criminal alliance suffocating Artibonite

Authorities in Artibonite denounce to AyiboPost the lack of leadership within the police and the absence of a clear strategy to counter this gang alliance introduced at the beginning of April.

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More than a week after the bloody offensive by the “Baz Gran Grif” gang in Jean Denis, 1st communal section of Petite-Rivière de l’Artibonite, the armed group is extending its grip as far as Dessalines.

The Haitian National Police claims to be supported by the Anti-Gang Task Force and to be achieving “major results” in its operations in Artibonite.

But local authorities dispute these claims to AyiboPost.

These officials point to the absence of “concrete and planned” measures, the lack of resources, and the absence of real leadership from state authorities.

On April 1, the criminal group operating in Savien merged with the “Kokorat San Ras” gang in the commune of Dessalines, already active in part of the commune of L’Estère, without encountering any real resistance.

This criminal alliance, aimed at strengthening its “control” of Lower Artibonite, takes place in a context marked by the presence, since 2024, of a base of the multinational mission in Pont-Sondé, and by the announcement, at the end of 2025, of the deployment of new equipment in the region.

A journalist, forced to flee his home in Petite-Rivière de l’Artibonite, and again during the attacks in Jean Denis on March 29, warns: “When the gangs gain control of Dessalines, only Saint-Marc will remain to be taken, and they will control all of Lower Artibonite.”

At first, members of the “Kokorat San Ras” gang distributed money to residents of Dessalines to discourage them from fleeing, making them believe they were preventing the Savien gang from invading the area.

Currently, the two criminal groups, now united, occupy several localities in Dessalines, further increasing the anxiety of the civilian population.

This alliance between the two gangs, in a commune without any police presence since July 2025, is “the largest” and “leaves no more hope,” continues the journalist, a former employee of a radio station in Dessalines.

“This is when I am the most afraid,” says the man in his forties, forced to flee, like hundreds of residents from downtown Dessalines, toward other remote localities.

The Haitian National Police reports successful results from operations it says it launched since March 31 in the localities of Bois Neuf, Pierre Payen, Jean Denis, and the 3rd section of Dessalines.

“These are statements meant to lull the population,” says Venson François, government prosecutor at the Court of First Instance of the Saint-Marc district, emphasizing that the bandits spent the entire week following the Jean Denis tragedy killing, looting, and burning, until their alliance with the “Kokorat San Ras” group.

There has been no response from authorities, according to the representative of the executive within the judiciary. “I am not aware of any ongoing action or anything planned,” the official continues.

On the afternoon of April 6, the Haitian National Police carried out several strikes using explosive drones in Savien, in the commune of Petite-Rivière de l’Artibonite, the stronghold of the “Baz Gran Grif” gang.

But, according to two administrative sources from Lower Artibonite contacted by AyiboPost, these initiatives are not part of a strategy to dismantle criminal groups.

The government prosecutor of Saint-Marc, Venson François, told AyiboPost he had not been informed of this intervention. “There was no coordination with forces on the ground. No one told me they took part,” he explains.

The interim executive agent of Petite-Rivière, Dort Lereste, who says he is aware of the strikes, indicates that he does not comment on the strategies of the Haitian National Police and the Task Force.

For the deputy delegate of the Saint-Marc district, Walter Montas, the strikes resemble more a deterrence maneuver, given that the bandits were present in Savien at the time. “It was not a gang dismantling operation,” he explains.

Security forces were deployed after the Jean-Denis attack that left dozens dead. The deputy delegate of Saint-Marc, Walter Montas, confirms their presence but fears that it may not be “permanent.”

Contacted by AyiboPost on this matter, police spokesperson Garry Desrosiers did not respond.

The journalist mentioned above, forced to flee with members of his family to the commune of Dessalines, also says he learned that armored vehicles from the Haitian National Police had gone to the scene after the attack.

This observation was also confirmed by the interim executive agent of Petite-Rivière de l’Artibonite, Dort Lereste, to AyiboPost the day after the attack.

“The vehicles did not stay,” regrets the journalist based in Artibonite. “In Dessalines, no police presence has been reported since July 7, 2025, after bandits set fire to the police station,” laments the reporter on the ground. He also denounces the acute panic attacks suffered by his grandson caused by gunfire.

Despite the presence of armored vehicles around Jean Denis, gangs continued their advance, taking control of several localities, including Pont Benoît, Ka Maten, Bois Jour, Pont Jour, Carrefour Roger, Barrage, up to Dessalines, where they established a toll checkpoint.

They also carried out an incursion into the Savane Brûlée area, one of the access routes to the commune of Petite-Rivière de l’Artibonite, with a view to a possible attack, reports the current commissioner of the Saint-Marc jurisdiction.

On March 31, the new police commissioner of the Saint-Marc jurisdiction attempted an intervention in Pierre Payen (Montrouis), “but he could not advance, as gangs had erected barricades requiring the use of bulldozers to be cleared,” explains the government commissioner of Saint-Marc, François.

That day, the police, equipped with two armored vehicles, stopped where they could reach, in Bois Neuf, AyiboPost learned.

The judicial official of Saint-Marc also says he observed the presence of a small delegation from the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police, which came to encourage the population to “file complaints.”

Gang violence in Lower Artibonite has now lasted for a week, following the bloody attacks in Jean Denis on the night of March 28 to 29.

This surge by the gang is reportedly linked to the interception and burning, by the armed self-defense group of Jean-Denis, of a vehicle transporting clothing intended for rara parades for the Savien gang, AyiboPost learned.

Survivors of the attack told AyiboPost they lost relatives and property, destroyed by gang fires.

Awakened in shock around three in the morning on March 29, Louizius Junior Exilhomme managed to flee with his octogenarian father toward Pont Benoît, a locality in the 1st communal section of Bas-Coursin 1, in Petite-Rivière de l’Artibonite.

The man, who narrowly escaped the gunfire of bandits along with a few neighbors by fleeing toward a mountain, describes an atmosphere that had been “peaceful” the day before, when residents were dancing to the rhythm of the traditional rara parade.

During the night of March 29 to 30, the bandits continued their attack, burning residents’ homes and then taking their livestock, recounts Junior, who says he watched the flames from where he had hidden.

The next day, his father, who had returned to the area, did not come back. “We have had no news of him since Monday morning, and we cannot go there to verify what happened,” Junior concludes.

Pierre, 40, has lived in Jean-Denis since birth.

He farms a few plots of land and ran a motorcycle parts shop, which bandits from “Baz Gran Grif” looted before the March 29 attack, forcing him to take refuge in Saint-Marc.

During the recent offensives, during which he learned of the death of four people from his neighborhood, bandits burned a quantity of electronic equipment he has not yet assessed, he says.

“The bandits completely burned down the business, we were unable to save anything,” explains the father of three, who adds that several other businesses in the area were also set on fire.

Currently, some areas not controlled by gangs remain on alert.

The commune of Verrettes continues to resist, while part of the Desarmes neighborhood is already under the control of armed groups. However, “it is not safe given recent events,” warns Commissioner Venson François.

In Petite-Rivière de l’Artibonite, four communal sections remain outside their control, while the other two have already fallen into the hands of the “Baz Gran Grif” gang.

Dessalines is almost entirely under gang control due to the absence of security forces.

In L’Estère, resistance has been organized with police on the ground and members of a brigade. Some parts remain under gang control. These groups have already taken control of the commune of Montrouis.

For now, only communes such as Saint-Marc, Desdunes, and Grande-Saline remain intact, but they are not safe for all that.

Walter Montas, deputy delegate of Saint-Marc, indicates that a security plan for the city is underway, with preparations to launch police operations.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the attacks in Jean-Denis have displaced 5,291 people and caused around 70 deaths.

By:  Jérôme Wendy Norestyl et Wilder Sylvain