Haitian Mob Lynched and Burned 14 Suspected Gang Members

When police officers stopped a suspicious mini-bus on a highway in the Haitian capital of Port-Au-Prince, they arrested 14 alleged gang members they found inside with guns and drugs. But before they could move them to a station, a large mob formed around the police, wrestled the gangsters from their custody and burned them to death after beating them severely.

All of the alleged gang members died following the incident, according to the Haitian authorities. 

The incident on Monday April 24. shows how local residents are furious at Haitian gangs, who have taken control of large swathes of the country, affected the supply of food and gasoline and been accused of wide-ranging human rights violations including murder, child recruitment, and rape.

In a video shared on social media showing the moment before the alleged gang members were set alight, the men are seen lying on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs as a couple of Haitian police officers try to stop people from throwing rocks at them. 

The mob of locals allegedly then threw gasoline-soaked tires around the men. Some of the men are bleeding from their heads. A man— seemingly the one recording the video from his cell phone—is heard saying that “they [the gangsters] are soaked in gasoline”. 

A different video from the same incident shows several people throwing big rocks at the men on the floor while yelling and pointing at them. A police officer also kicks one of them.

In the last two years criminal gangs have taken control of over 60 percent of Haiti’s capital, wreaking havoc on the general population. The situation has pushed thousands to leave the country and look for safety in countries like Brazil, Chile or the United States. 

Haitians have demonstrated their frustration at gang members before by protesting against violence and asking the toothless government for more security. But they decided to take justice on their own hands, according to witnesses of Monday’s lynching. 

“It was about time. This lynching is a clear message to the gangs: if the state doesn’t do its job, then we will,” Jean Damas, a local resident told VICE World News. 

“Officers from the Haiti National Police stopped and searched a minibus on the Canape Vert neighborhood early Monday (…) unfortunately (the alleged gang members) were lynched by members of the population,” Haiti National Police said on a short press release on Monday.

In a different incident on the same day, some six more bodies were also burned in a nearby neighborhood, according to an Associated Press report. Haitian National Police haven’t yet confirmed this second incident. 

“I applaud the considerable and meritorious efforts of the National Police to restore order and peace in our cities and neighborhoods,” Haiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry posted on Twitter after the lynching on April 24. 

The U.S.’s Department of Justice recently charged seven Haitian gang leaders for the kidnappings of numerous U.S. citizens, including Emanuel Solomon, a.k.a Manno, a gang leader charged with a kidnapping in January 2021.

Another gang leader was recently awarded a prize by YouTube for amassing more than 100,000 subscribers on his music channel. 

Izo Vilaj de Dye, also a popular rapper, is said to be the boss of one of Haiti’s most violent gangs, Baz 5 Segond, and allegedly behind a series of kidnappings in Port-Au-Prince.

A few days after receiving the award, local residents started a campaign to ask YouTube to take down Vilaj de Dye’s channel. A week after the Change.org campaign was launched, Vilaj de Dye’s YouTube channel seemed to be down.