Haiti Drone Strike Kills Children During Gang Leader's Birthday Celebration

Explosive drones targeting a suspected gang leader in Haiti's capital killed at least eight children and seriously injured six others in the gang-controlled slum of Cité Soleil on Saturday night, according to relatives and activists who blamed the police for the attack.

The incident, which also claimed the lives of three civilians and four suspected gang members while injuring seven more gunmen, occurred in the Simon Pelé community amid preparations for the birthday of Albert Steevenson, known as Djouma, a leader in the Viv Ansanm gang coalition—designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. Jimmy Chérizier, alias Barbecue, another coalition leader, vowed revenge. Haiti's National Human Rights Defense Network accused police of deploying kamikaze drones, noting Steevenson was distributing gifts to children at the time.

Victims' families shared harrowing accounts of the chaos. Claudia Bobrun, 30, showed a video of her 8-year-old daughter lying in blood, while Michelis Florville, 60, lost his 3- and 7-year-old grandchildren and 32-year-old son in the blast. Nanouse Mertelia, 37, recounted finding her son with severed limbs after he stepped out for food; he died en route to the hospital from blood loss. Aglamoïde Saint-Ville, 53, mourned her 33-year-old son, a moto taxi driver and family breadwinner, killed returning from work, leaving his 6-year-old daughter without support. Residents described panic as explosions sent people fleeing, highlighting the human cost in a capital where gangs control 90% of the area.

The attack has sparked urgent calls for accountability, with no official response from authorities 48 hours later. Romain Le Cour of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime questioned responsibility among the prime minister, transitional council, police, or private contractors.

The human rights group noted similar drone strikes, including one in downtown Port-au-Prince earlier this month killing 11 civilians, and criticized the selectivity of operations that spare gang leaders while causing collateral damage. A new task force using explosive drones operates outside police oversight, involving private contractors.

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This incident underscores Haiti's escalating security crisis, with underfunded police relying on a U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan forces, currently at 991 personnel—far below the planned 2,500—and funded at just 14% of the $800 million annual need. U.S. Deputy Secretary Christopher Landau urged a "gang suppression force" at U.N. headquarters, stressing immediate action.

Meanwhile, security firm Vectus Global, founded by former U.S. Navy SEAL Erik Prince, prepares to deploy 200 personnel under a one-year deal, as confirmed by Haiti's transitional council in June, to combat gang violence amid dwindling governmental legitimacy.

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