Haiti gang leader seeks UN talks as El Salvador sends 2,000 troops to hunt for missing soldiers

This article is published in association with United Nations.

A Haitian gang leader wanted by the United States has asked the UN to mediate, as El Salvador sends more than 2,000 troops into the country to search for four of its soldiers who went missing after a gang ambush.

Gangs control most of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and have terrorized Haitians for years as they fight over territory and resources.

The UN Security Council-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF) was set up to take on the gangs, protect vital infrastructure and get humanitarian aid moving.

The four Salvadoran soldiers, who were serving with the force, disappeared during an attack by armed groups on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince on 18 October.

Media reports said the troops El Salvador sent at the end of October are on a mission to rescue them.

Gang leader’s letter to the UN

Meanwhile, Wilson Joseph – who is one of Haiti’s most feared gang leaders – has sent a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres calling for dialogue with international forces in the country, presenting himself as an interlocutor ready to negotiate peace.

Mr. Joseph – nicknamed Lanmò Sanjou – leads the 400 Mawozo gang, which is notorious for carrying out kidnappings for ransom.

The UN confirmed on Monday evening that it had received the letter but distanced itself from the contents.

“The receipt of such a letter does not constitute an endorsement of its contents, nor an acknowledgment of its author, nor a position taken by the United Nations,” Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the Secretary-General, said in a note to the press.

Dialogue and mediation call

In his letter, Mr. Joseph requested that a UN delegation be sent to engage in discussions with his group, as the gang leader claimed – according to reports – to have “officially raised the white flag” as he seeks a peaceful solution to the Haitian crisis.

The gang leader fears that the Salvadoran intervention will provoke an increase in reprisals against civilians, whilst noting that the four missing Salvadorans are now dead.

The Haitian authorities consider them to be missing, while the Salvadorean government believes that they are still alive.

Wilson Joseph’s conciliatory stance contrasts dramatically with his organization’s past. Located in Croix-des-Bouquets, northeast of the capital Port-au-Prince, 400 Mawozo infamously kidnapped 17 missionaries from the United States and Canada in October 2021.

The FBI is offering a $1 million reward for information leading to Mr. Joseph’s arrest.

Intervention – within the law

The GSF is authorised to have 5,500 personnel but the number remains well below that target.

According to UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric the “vast majority” of the additional 2,000 Salvadorean troops operating in Haiti “are not deployed under the Gang Suppression Force.”

He added that all “security operations conducted in Haiti, whether under the framework of the GSF or by national authorities and their partners, must be carried out in full accordance with applicable international law, including international human rights law and international humanitarian law.”

Civilians, the first victims

Civilians continue to bear the brunt of gang violence in Haiti.

More than 5,700 people were killed or injured between January and mid-September this year, while nearly 1.5 million Haitians were forced to flee their homes, because of violence and insecurity.

According to the UN, around 6.4 million people, more than half of the population, require humanitarian assistance across the country.