‘One less gang leader’: Haiti’s prime minister celebrates police operation

What the report says

Haiti’s National Police said Mathias Saintil, an alleged gang leader linked to the Boston gang in Port-au-Prince’s Cité Soleil area, was killed during a recent law enforcement operation. Al Jazeera reported that police described him as “neutralised,” while a police source said he was later taken to hospital after being hit by multiple bullets in an exchange of gunfire. The report did not provide independent verification of the circumstances beyond the police account.

Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime publicly welcomed the operation on social media, framing it as part of the government’s effort to push back against armed groups. His post was widely read as a signal that authorities are trying to show progress against gangs that have expanded their control in and around the capital.

The development comes against the backdrop of Haiti’s prolonged security and political crisis following the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. Al Jazeera noted that gang violence has helped drive mass displacement, disrupted daily life and left much of Port-au-Prince under gang influence. The article also placed the incident within broader international efforts to support Haitian security forces, including a UN-backed Gang Suppression Force that has faced funding and staffing shortages. In that context, the killing of a suspected gang figure is significant as a measure of how the state is attempting to reclaim territory, even as violence remains widespread.