Haiti gang leader blames witchcraft for his son’s death, kills more than 100 people
A killing spree by a Haiti gang leader grieving over the illness and death of his son in the country’s largest slum has led to the deaths of more than 100 elderly residents.
The killings were carried out by Micanor Altes, who goes by the names Wa Mikanò” and Monel Felix, between Friday and Saturday in the Wharf Jérémie section of Cité Solei in Port-au-Prince, and on the advice of a local Vodou priest who accused the community’s elderly residents of being responsible for the child’s ailments.
Several human rights groups confirmed the massacre to the Miami Herald, but were still trying to confirm details including how many people were killed. A spokesperson said the Haiti National Police did not yet have details.
It remained unclear Monday how many people were killed. The head of the National Human Rights Defense Network in the capital put the death toll, conservatively at 110, all over the age of 60 years-old. United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Türk, addressing journalists in Geneva on Monday, said at least 184 people were killed in the violence orchestrated by the gang leader.
The latest killings, which include at least 90 men and 37 women, all elderly, according to the U.N.’s information, bring the death toll just this year in Haiti to 5,000 people, Türk said at a press conference ahead of Human Rights Day on Tuesday.
“We need to stem the flow of arms into Haiti,” Türk said.
Haitian armed gangs are also responsible for the internal displacement of more than 700,000 Haitians following ongoing attacks in Port-au-Prince and the neighboring Artibonite region. In early October gangs carried out a middle-of-the-night massacre in the rural community of Pont-Sondé.
The killings have underscored the government’s limited ability to protect residents, who are often held hostage in their communities and cannot flee. Since the weekend massacre, Wharf Jérémie has been under an informal siege. Gang members have restricted movement in the area.
A Port-au-Prince resident who spoke to the Herald said his 76-year-old father was among those killed. His other relatives, he said, were still trapped inside the community. The man, who asked that his name not be used, said he’s been told by residents that the death toll is even higher than the number from the U.N.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the violence and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims. Guterres reiterated his call to U.N. member nations to provide the Kenya-led security support mission in Haiti with the financial and logistical support to help the Haitian national police deal with gang violence, spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said.
The latest violence was initially met with silence from Haiti’s transitional rulers. In a post on X after publication, the prime minister’s office said it condemns the massacre “in the strongest terms.”
“This act of barbarity, of unbearable cruelty, cost the lives of more than a hundred women and men, mainly defenseless old people,” the post said. “This monstrous crime constitutes a direct attack on humanity and... order. The government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, solemnly undertakes to ensure that such horrors do not go unpunished.”
This is not Altes’ first brutal act against residents of his community. In June 2021, the gang leader executed 12 elderly women accused of witchcraft, the National Human Rights Defense Network said.
Pierre Esperance, executive director of the National Human Rights Defense Network, condemned the violence and called for immediate action to ensure justice for the victims and safety for vulnerable communities.
Esperance said Altes reportedly carried out the killings after seeking the advice of a local Vodou priest after his son became ill. The Vodou priest, known as a bòkò, accused the area’s residents of causing the child’s sickness with witchcraft.
On Friday, Altes shot and killed at least 60 elderly people and the following day he killed at least 50 more using machetes, the National Human Rights Defense Network said.
Altes is a member of the powerful gang alliance Viv Ansanm that has been launched coordinated attacks across the capital since late February in a bid to destroy police stations, overtake neighborhoods and bring down the government.
This story was originally published December 9, 2024 at 9:49 AM.
