From Criminal Governance to Community Fragmentation: Addressing Haiti's Escalating Crisis

The brief states that Haiti's crisis has become one of consolidated criminal governance, territorial fragmentation and eroding state authority. Gangs now control 90 percent of Port-au-Prince and are expanding into strategic areas beyond the capital, following a three-phase pattern of coordination, sustained assault and consolidation, with extortion as the economic base.

It reports that vigilante brigades have become central actors since early 2025, that the security sector is fragmented by rivalries, privatization and militarization, and that the Multinational Security Support mission faces structural and political obstacles. At least 4,026 people were killed between January 1 and May 30, 2025, and almost 1.3 million people, about 11 percent of the population, were displaced. The brief notes that there is no plan for the period after the Transitional Presidential Council's mandate ends on February 7, 2026, and sets priorities that include reinforcing Haitian-led governance and justice initiatives and targeting the networks of brokers that sustain the criminal political economy.