Haitian ex-lawmaker and former director arrested in ongoing gang crisis investigation

PORT-AU-PRINCE —Former Deputy of Petite-Rivière in the Artibonite, Prophane Victor, was arrested on Jan. 12 by agents of the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police (DCPJ). The arrest is part of ongoing investigations targeting Haïti’s influential figures linked to gangs terrorizing the population, Haïtian National Police (PNH) spokesperson confirmed. 

Deputy police spokesperson Lionel Lazarre confirmed the arrest, noting that a search was conducted at Victor’s residence in Vivy Mitchell, a neighborhood of Pétion-Ville. A video posted on PNH social media shows PNH agents searching the property for evidence.

Victor’s detention follows the Jan. 9 arrest of Magalie Habitant, former director of the National Solid Waste Management Service (SNGRS), also by the DCPJ in Pétion-Ville.

These high-profile arrests come amid mounting public concerns and demands for accountability with gang violence claiming over 5,000 lives in 2024 and displacing more than 700,000 people. Haïtian authorities vow further actions as the population awaits progress in curbing Haïti’s spiraling insecurity. 

Victor’s name has long been associated with allegations of fueling gang violence, arming criminal groups, and financing their activities. However, no formal charges have been brought against him to date. Currently in custody, Victor has already faced international sanctions. He is among a handful of political figures, alongside identified gang leaders like Jimmy  “Barbeque” Cherizier, Johnson “Izo” André, René “Ti Lapli” Destina, and Wilson “Lanmò San Jou” Joseph, named on a United Nations sanctions list made public in 2022.

A trail of accusations and sanctions

A United Nations Expert Group on Haiti’s report has linked Victor to the Gran Grif gang leader and escalating violence across the Artibonite communes including L’Estère, Petite-Rivière de l’Artibonite, Liancourt, Gros-Morne, and Terre-Neuve. The report highlights the use of sexual and gender-based violence, particularly rape, as a method of control allegedly by gangs directly connected to Victor.

Victor has faced repeated accusations of collaborating with gangs in the country, particularly in Savien, Artibonite. In 2019, a former gang leader, known as Odma, accused Victor of providing firearms and ammunition during his electoral campaign. Victor denied the allegations, and Haitian authorities did not open an investigation.

Local reports suggest Victor enlisted a police inspector to support Odma’s criminal activities during his campaign. Despite these accusations, no legal proceedings have been initiated against him locally.

Canada has also sanctioned Victor and former Artibonite Senator Gracia Delva, banning their entry and freezing assets held in Canadian territories. These actions are part of a broader campaign led by Canada and the United States to target Haitian officials and political figures accused of exacerbating insecurity in the country.

In September 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on the former Haitian deputy for his role in supporting and arming gangs in the Artibonite department. Gang leader Luckson Élan, head of the Gran Grif group, was also sanctioned. OFAC cited their actions as contributors to severe Human Rights violations in Haïti.

Link to the arrest of another controversial figure, Magalie Habitant

Victor’s arrest closely follows that of Habitant who is accused of links to the “Viv Ansanm” gang coalition. PNH arrested Habitant, a former director of the National Solid Waste Management Service (SNGRS) along with her driver, Jean Philippe Lener, and searched her home. Since Jan. 9, she has been in DCPJ custody, under interrogation regarding alleged ties to gangs, as well as accusations of mismanagement and embezzlement during her tenure at SNGRS in 2021.

Authorities indicate that additional arrests could follow based on the interrogations of Victor and Habitant as they announce continued efforts to address the ongoing insecurity fueled by gang activities in Haiti.

The post Haitian ex-lawmaker and former director arrested in ongoing gang crisis investigation appeared first on The Haitian Times.