Believes His Son Is Magical, Gang Leader In Haiti Orders Massacre In Slum Area

Illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Tony Webster)

JAKARTA - At least 110 people died over the weekend in the slums of Cite Soleil, Haiti, when a gang leader targeted parents who he suspected caused his son's illness through witchcraft, the National Human Rights Defenders Network (RNDDH) said on Sunday.

The leader of the Wharf Jeremie gang, Monel "Mikano" Felix ordered the massacre after his son fell ill, RNDDH said, saying he sought advice from a Voodoo priest who accused parents in the area of hurting their children through witchcraft.

Gang members killed at least 60 people on Friday and 50 on Saturday using machetes and knives, the organization said.

The Human Rights group said all victims were over 60 years old.

"On the other hand, Felix's son died on Saturday afternoon," said RNDDH.

Cite Soleil, a densely populated slum area near the port of the capital Port-au-Prince, is one of Haiti's poorest and hardest areas.

Strict gang control, including restrictions on the use of mobile phones, has limited the ability of residents to share information about the massacre.

Felix, who leads the Wharf Jeremie gang, is barred from entering the neighboring Dominican Republic by 2022.

The United Nations in October estimated that Felix's gang had around 300 members and operated around Fort Dimanche and La Saline.

In November 2018, La Saline was the site of the massacre of at least 71 civilians, while hundreds of houses were burned.

Jimmy "Barbecue" Cherizier, the Viv Ansanm gang alliance in Port-au-Prince, has been sanctioned by the United Nations on charges of planning La Saline's massacre while he was still a police officer, among other crimes.

In October, at least 115 people were slaughtered in Pont-Sonde, a city in the Artibonite region, Haiti, which is a food barn, in what the Gran Grif gang said was retaliation for residents working with martial arts groups who were blocking their toll road operations.

It is known that the Haitian Government, which has been hit by political clashes, has struggled to contain the growing power of armed gangs inside and around the capital.

Haitian authorities in 2022 have sought international security support for local police, but the mission - which is based on voluntary contributions - approved by the United Nations in 2023, is only deployed in part and is highly resource-deficient.

Haitian leaders have since called for the mission to be turned into UN peacekeeping forces to ensure better supplies, but the plan has stalled amid opposition from China and Russia on the Security Council.