In a major international effort, the United Nations Security Council recently approved a historic resolution, sponsored by the United States and Panama, authorizing the creation of the Gang Suppression Force (GSF) in Haiti. The objective is clear and urgent: to directly confront organized crime, which for years has been spreading terror on the Caribbean island and perpetrating mass murders against the civilian population.
The multinational force will consist of 5,550 personnel, of whom 5,500 will be military and police, and 50 will be civilians, according to the U.N. This structure marks the transition from the previous Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS), led by Kenya. The GSF is designed to be a larger, more robust force with an explicit mandate to target criminal networks.
First operations and the regional security challenge
“The decision to create this new force is of utmost importance given that the country has been undergoing a complex crisis for many years in which armed groups are holding the population hostage. This is compounded by the fact that Haitian society is drastically affected in terms of access to essential goods and services such as food, water, sanitation, and medical care,” Argentine expert in international relations and security issues Luis Somoza told Diálogo.
The GSF has since gone into action. In collaboration with the Haitian National Police (PNH) and the Haitian Armed Forces (FAD’H), the force carried out targeted operations and patrols in the Artibonite department, for example successfully clearing the crucial Petite-Rivière–Liancourt–Pont Sondé route in mid-October.
Despite fierce resistance from the Gran-Griff criminal gang, the joint GSF/PNH team maintained its primary mission to ensure the security of the road and secure the delivery of armored vehicles to local police stations, significantly strengthening security in the region.
The force’s mission is broad and ambitious. It focuses on intelligence-led operations against gangs, protecting critical infrastructure and key routes, strengthening operational capabilities of the PNH and the FAD’H, combating trafficking and diversion of illicit weapons, supporting the national police in maintaining public order, and capturing criminal leaders and collaborators.
Transnational threat
The crisis in Haiti is not isolated; it represents a significant regional security threat that extends across the Caribbean. The expansion of gang control and violence is directly linked to the operations of transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) that leverage Haiti’s institutional collapse to facilitate their illicit trade.
This threat is amplified by the expansion of groups originating in Venezuela, such as the Tren de Aragua (TdA), a group that has been designated a terrorist organization by several nations and whose activities are facilitated by the Nicolás Maduro regime. Although TdA primarily exploits migrant routes throughout the continent for human smuggling, drug trafficking, and extorsion, its presence signals the vulnerability of Caribbean nations to well-resourced, sophisticated terror groups.
The gangs in Haiti, empowered by the massive, illicit flow of weapons and increasingly coordinating their attacks, essentially function as partners in a wider regional criminal ecosystem. The success of the GSF in neutralizing these armed groups and securing key Haitian ports and transit routes is therefore seen as an essential measure to prevent regional destabilization and combat the TCOs that threaten the entire Western Hemisphere.
The humanitarian crisis is profound. “Haiti is the poorest country in the hemisphere and one of the poorest in the world, with about 60 percent of its population living below the poverty line and criminal groups taking over strategic locations on the outskirts of the capital, Port-au-Prince, which facilitates drug and arms trafficking,” Somoza said.
International reactions and cooperation
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed the deployment of the GSF and called for “swift” action, urging other countries to join the effort.
Several countries have already committed personnel to the force. Kenya remains the lead nation, and other countries including Guatemala, El Salvador, Jamaica, Belize, and the Bahamas have pledged or sent personnel to support the mission.
A notable example of commitment is the Guatemalan military. A contingent of 150 Guatemalan military personnel recently completed their training to join the force. Colonel Luis Alfredo Sáenz, commander of the group, told Diario Las Américas: “This demonstrates the great commitment we have as military police to be ambassadors in uniform, guardians of peace, and soldiers of hope for the Haitian people.”
The situation in Port-au-Prince is critical: Armed groups control an estimated 90 percent of the city, blocking roads, attacking infrastructure, and terrorizing the population with kidnappings, rapes, and murders. In 2024 alone, more than 5,600 people were killed, the U.N. indicated.
Violence has also spread to other areas previously considered safe, such as the departments of Artibonite and Centre, where forced displacement already affects more than 239,000 people. In total, more than 1.3 million Haitians have been displaced, with essential services such as healthcare and food distribution collapsing.
Gang alliances and the hunt for leaders
The gangs, once rivals, have put aside their differences to face law enforcement together. “These criminal factions, which were previously rivals and at one point fought over territorial disputes, have now joined forces and formed alliances to fight against the efforts of the Haitian National Police,” Somoza said.
In August, the U.S. State Department raised the reward to $5 million for information leading to the capture of Jimmy Cherizier, alias Barbecue, the most feared leader of Haiti’s armed gangs.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro justified the reward, stating, “He is a gang leader responsible for heinous human rights abuses, including violence against American citizens in Haiti […]. Our office is committed to keeping Americans safe anywhere in the world, and the gang violence that has ravaged Haiti must end.”
Haiti’s future: between hope and challenge
For Somoza, the GSF must act decisively to contain the wave of violence. “It is crucial that the United States and the countries in the region provide humanitarian and security assistance, seeking diplomatic consensus and cooperation agreements to enable Haiti to neutralize these gangs,” he said.
From Haiti, the institutional response has been one of cautious hope. Laurent Saint-Cry, president of the Presidential Transition Council, welcomed the creation of the GSF. Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, for his part, considered that the force, “constitutes an important step forward in the collaboration between Haiti and the international community,” France 24 reported.
Luis Somoza concluded with a call for international action: “Decisive and coordinated international action will be the key to achieving stability in Haiti, ending the brutality with which gangs wreak havoc, and thus ensuring peace in this Caribbean region.”
