Santo: gangs force residents to build barricades, AyiboPost reports

In Santo and several nearby localities of Croix-des-Bouquets, armed gangs are forcing residents to take part in their preparations, notably building barricades, AyiboPost reports in an investigation published on Sunday, 1 November, citing two sources familiar with the situation.

"The bandits have barricaded the streets and force anyone they come across to help them build the roadblocks," a resident told the outlet. According to him, residents are stopped when they go out shopping or simply pass through the area, and they cannot refuse in the face of threats. AyiboPost does not name its sources.

Roads cut in the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac

According to the outlet, which cites half a dozen people aware of these moves, the gangs are preparing for possible operations by Salvadoran forces in the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac. They are putting up barricades, cutting roads, forcing residents to demonstrate against the foreign presence and recruiting young men by force.

AyiboPost says barricades have been seen in Lillavois, Lizon, Marin, Lathan, Carrefour Shada, Santo and Damien, as well as in Santo 11, Santo 17, Croix-des-Missions, Carrefour Fouji and Bajou. According to accounts gathered by the outlet, one gang uses tree trunks to block access to its territory, and truckloads of stones are dumped on some roads to slow armoured vehicles.

Two Santo residents report that armed men threaten reprisals against anyone who tries to leave the neighbourhood. One woman says she can only leave "empty-handed". A high-school teacher says two of his students told him that young people had been forced to take part in a march on Friday, 30 October. According to AyiboPost, hundreds of people are still leaving the area.

After the disappearance of four Salvadorans

These preparations follow the disappearance in Santo on Sunday, 18 October, of four Salvadoran aviation technicians serving with the Gang Suppression Force (GSF). Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has vowed to bring them back "alive, safe and sound" and has threatened the gangs. According to AyiboPost, more than 2,000 Salvadoran special forces personnel have arrived in Haiti.

On 21 October, Juno7 reported gunfire in Santo and said the GSF was asking residents of Santo and surrounding neighbourhoods to stay at home. Doctors Without Borders reported 30 wounded treated in its hospitals between 18 and 26 October, linked to a "serious explosion of violence" in the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac, according to a statement carried by Rezo Nòdwès.