It was 2 a. m.
when the gunfire erupted in the rural village of Jean-Denis, Haiti. Residents asleep in their homes were suddenly under attack.
"Pow, pow, pow – quick gunfire coming towards us from all directions," said Merçide Daniel, a 45-year-old mother of four.
"It was the Gran Grif gang coming to take over our neighbourhood and turn it into a base."
Dozens of armed men in civilian clothes and bandanas swarmed the village, shooting indiscriminately. Those who tried to flee were gunned down.
Others were dragged from their homes and killed at close range.
"They were shooting at us, attacking.
I ran to hide in the bushes and when I looked back, they had set everything on fire," Daniel said.
Homes were set ablaze, some with residents trapped inside. By morning, thick smoke still rose from charred buildings.
Dozens of bodies lay scattered on the roads.
Survivors wandered past the dead, filming the devastation and searching for loved ones.
Among the victims was 80-year-old Marie Elvire Louis, a mother of five, shot in the neck and chest outside her home.
Kenold François, a father of four, was shot multiple times in the abdomen in his yard.
Five members of Daniel's family were killed: two uncles, an aunt, and two cousins. Three died trying to escape; two were burned alive.
"I had never seen anything like this before," Daniel said. "It was a massacre."
Gang Expansion into Rural Haiti
For years, gang warfare has ravaged Port-au-Prince, with cartels controlling large parts of the capital.
Now, they are pushing into Haiti's rural heartland, attacking farming communities and seizing key roads.
An investigation using videos, photographs, witness testimony, and satellite imagery reconstructed the Jean-Denis massacre. At least 70 civilians were killed, and thousands fled.
The victims spanned generations. Estimable Fils-Aimé, 85, was burned alive in his home.
Oldy Thomas, 28, was shot while fleeing. Eight-year-old Berlancia Dor was shot in the chest and died instantly.
"We are not safe – we have lost everything," Daniel said.
In the Artibonite region, violent incidents involving gangs and vigilantes rose from 39 in 2021 to 238 in 2025, according to ACLED data.
In Centre department, incidents increased from seven to 111 over the same period.
"Criminal groups are now present in five out of 10 of Haiti's departments – the violence is definitely spreading," said Nathalye Cotrino, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch.
Nationwide, violent incidents surged from 615 in 2021 to 1,626 in 2025.
Nearly 6,000 people died in gang violence in 2025, and about 1.4 million people have been displaced, according to the UN.
Pierre Espérance, executive director of Haiti's National Human Rights Defence Network, described how gangs terrorize civilians: "They are kidnapping people.
They are burning churches and schools, they are burning houses with people inside them. They are massacring, killing, raping."
Strategic Control of Trade Routes
As gangs expand, they entrench themselves along key transit routes in and out of Port-au-Prince and near the Dominican Republic border.
These corridors are used for drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, and extortion.
"There's been a big increase of gangs fighting for control of key roads and junctions. Why?
Because they're money-making," said William O'Neill, the UN expert on human rights in Haiti.
The UN warned in December that Haiti was becoming a central hub for international drug trafficking.
Cocaine shipments from South America arrive via remote airstrips or boats, then move through the Dominican Republic to Europe and North America.
Artibonite, known as Haiti's breadbasket, has become a key target.
It produces much of the nation's food and hosts critical transport routes connecting the capital to the north.
The Sud-Est region is also emerging as a concern, with seven gang-related incidents in early 2026, compared to just one in 2018.
In April, at least nine people were killed in what rights groups call the region's first significant massacre linked to the widening conflict.
"Port-au-Prince gangs appear to be expanding into Sud-Est, where they face less pressure from law enforcement," said Sandra Pellegrini, senior Latin American analyst at ACLED.
Since late 2025, Haitian police, supported by foreign personnel and private security contractors, have intensified operations against gang strongholds in the capital.
Some gang leaders have moved to rural areas to avoid drone strikes, O'Neill said.
At least 1,243 people were killed in 141 drone-strike operations between March 2025 and January 2026, according to Human Rights Watch.
With security focused on Port-au-Prince, large parts of the country have limited protection.
The Multinational Security Support mission, led by Kenyan police, left Haiti in April.
A new UN-backed Gang Suppression Force is expected to take over, but will not reach full strength until autumn.
Experts say gangs are exploiting the transition.
"The gangs are trying to test capacity and willingness," O'Neill said. "They are acting more aggressively to see what the reaction will be."
Impunity compounds the problem.
"Impunity is why the violence continues to worsen every day," said Ulrick Tintin, director of legal affairs at Défenseurs Plus.
Few gang leaders are arrested or prosecuted. "There is no life in Haiti," Espérance said.
