Deadly gang attacks ‘orchestrated’ in southeast Haiti prompt protest in Jacmel

JACMEL, Haiti — Hundreds of residents flooded the streets Wednesday to protest a surge in gang violence following the deadly attacks in nearby Seguin, which left at least eight people dead and forced thousands to flee.

The demonstrations, which began early in the morning, paralyzed much of Jacmel as protesters marched through the city center and the Sainte-Hélène, Lamandou and Aviation district — forcing schools, businesses and public offices to close as they made an urgent appeal to the police and judicial authorities.

“The Southeast will not become a lost territory,”  protester Guerlince Lohier, a high school principal, said. 

“We call on the police and the justice system to regain control of Seguin and restore order,” Lohier said. “We have nowhere else to go.” 

The protest follows attacks in Seguin, a locality in the commune of Marigot, that took place Monday and Tuesday. Armed bandits killed residents, set fire to a sub-police station and destroyed police vehicles, according to local authorities and Civil Protection agency officials.

More than 4,000 people have fled their homes as violence continues to spread, Civil Protection officials in the region said.  Fear that the crisis could reach Jacmel and other parts of the department is rising.

Protesters called for urgent government intervention, warning that continued inaction could allow gangs to expand their control into areas once considered relatively stable. 

“Rapid deployment of police reinforcements could have prevented this escalation of violence,” resident Emmanuel Ladouceur said.

‘Not another Martissant’

The identity of the attackers remains unknown, and the circumstances surrounding the assault are still under investigation. However, locals blame the violence on security failures at the Seguin police outpost. 

Residents and community leaders say the attack reflects a broader pattern of expanding gang violence beyond Port-au-Prince, as armed groups tighten their grip on new regions with limited state presence.

Ladouceur, for one, blamed Vladimir Paraison, the director general of the Haitian National Police (PNH). Ladouceur said that police reinforcements deployed in time could have prevented the violence. He also indicated that citizens are organizing to help the affected populations in Seguin.

Some demonstrators also demanded the resignation of Southeast Police Director Magalie Belneau, accusing authorities of failing to prevent the attack or respond quickly enough and of complicity.

“Jacmel will not become another Martissant,” said Lohier, referring to a neighborhood near Port-au-Prince notorious that gangs took over years ago. 

“We refuse to let armed groups impose their law, burn down our homes and kill our children,” he said.

Lohier describes the attack as “orchestrated insecurity,” arguing that the state has failed in its duty to protect citizens.

Leriche Moïse, a protester who described the Southeast as a region being “under siege.”

“The people have no other choice but to take to the streets,” he said. “What is happening shows the incompetence of the authorities.”

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