Reported by Al Jazeera
Haiti’s National Police announced that alleged gang leader Mathias Saintil was killed in an exchange of gunfire.
Haiti’s National Police (PNH) has confirmed that a gang leader known as Mathias Saintil was “neutralised” as part of a recent law enforcement operation.
In a social media post shared on Friday, officials described Saintil as the leader of the Boston gang, named for a neighbourhood in Cite Soleil, an impoverished part of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
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Saintil was reportedly struck by “multiple bullets” during a law enforcement operation, and a police source said he died later in the hospital.
Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime celebrated the news with a social media post of his own.
“One less gang leader,” he wrote in a mix of French and Haitian Creole. “The battle to liberate the country from the grip of bandits continues with determination. The gangs won’t be able to sleep!”
Haiti has struggled with a surge in gang violence for years, most notably after the assassination of then-President Jovenel Moise in 2021.
The assassination left the country in crisis, and no national elections have been held in the years since. Amid the political turmoil, organised crime in Haiti sought to expand its influence, claiming large swaths of territory.
As much as 90 percent of Port-au-Prince has fallen under gang control, including key roadways and maritime ports. At least 26 gangs operate in the area in and around the capital, according to the United Nations.
Haiti has long struggled with political instability, economic decline and successive natural disasters. It has been ranked as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
The country’s gangs often recruit young people with the promise of food, income and protection. The UN estimates that half of the country’s gang members are children and teens under the age of 18.
The violence, however, has led to a spiralling humanitarian crisis. At least 1.4 million people have been displaced from their homes, particularly in the capital area.
Some 1,123 Haitians were killed in the violence between July and October of this year, according to the UN. Another 440 people were injured…