The recent massacre in Haiti by the Wharf Jeremie gang has sparked a wave of horror and outrage across the country and far beyond its borders. The United Nations has reported a higher death toll than initially estimated, bringing the death toll from the atrocity that took place between December 6 and 11 to more than 207.
The gruesome tale reveals unspeakable brutality, with elderly people and Vodou religious leaders being taken from their homes and places of worship, subjected to cruel interrogations, and finally executed in cold blood with bullets and machetes. The prevailing impunity has allowed this gang to spread terror and erase all traces of their crimes by burning or throwing the mutilated bodies into the sea.
The motivation behind this senseless violence seems to lie in a personal vendetta, where the death of the gang leader’s son, Micanor Altès, is said to have triggered an outpouring of hatred and irrational violence. Wrongly accusing members of the community of causing his son’s illness, Altès chose to blindly punish the most vulnerable, the most respected, the most innocent.
This tragedy is part of a broader context of chaos and instability in Haiti, exacerbated by gang violence since the assassination of the president in 2021. The country is struggling to organize elections and restore a semblance of democracy, leaving part of the population to fend for itself, at the mercy of unscrupulous armed groups.
The international community, through the United Nations and human rights organizations, has called on the Haitian authorities to act swiftly to bring the perpetrators to justice and put an end to this spiral of violence and impunity. The memory of the victims of this massacre cannot be tarnished by forgetfulness or neglect; their sacrifice must serve as a catalyst for radical and lasting change in Haitian society.
Ultimately, this sad chapter in Haiti’s history reminds us of the fragility of peace and justice in the world, but also of the resilience and dignity of the victims in the face of inhumanity. May their voices resonate as a call to action, solidarity and compassion, so that such atrocities never happen again, anywhere on this earth.