Atores violentos não estatais no Haiti: análise dos impactos das gangues segundo jornais locais (2018-2023)

Abstract

The strengthening of violent non-state actors has become one of the main challenges to contemporary security, especially in contexts marked by institutional fragility. In this sense, this research aimed to map and analyze the activities of gangs as violent non-state actors in Haiti between 2018 and 2023, based on news reports published by the Haitian press. It sought to identify the main armed groups, the most affected locations, the forms of violence employed, and their resulting impacts. The study is based on the hypothesis that the worsening of Haiti’s institutional fragility during the period under analysis expanded the power vacuum, contributed to the growth of gangs, and intensified their impacts on the civilian population. Methodologically, the research adopts a qualitative and quantitative approach, grounded in both primary and secondary sources. The primary sources consist of news reports published by the Haitian newspapers Le Nouvelliste and Haiti en Marche, while the secondary sources include books, scientific articles, theses, dissertations, and international reports. In total, 67 news reports were included in the analysis.The results indicated the predominance of gangs linked to the G-Pèp and G9 coalitions, with the highest concentration of reported activity in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. The main forms of violence identified included armed clashes, homicides, kidnappings, and gender-based violence, indicating the predominance of direct violence. At the same time, the impacts of these violent actions were mainly related to the spread of fear and insecurity within Haitian society. The analysis also showed that, throughout the period studied, from 2018 to 2023, the incidence of news reports addressing violence increased, suggesting that the successive crises that occurred during this period worsened over time. Therefore, the study concludes that, during the period analyzed, gangs played a central role in Haiti’s political and social dynamics, controlling security and deepening patterns of violence that have persisted since the colonial period