Haitian authorities confirm death of gang leader Mathias Saintil in police operation

Police operation in Cité Soleil

Haitian authorities confirmed on Friday, 6 November, that Mathias Saintil, a leader of the Boston gang, was killed in an operation on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé announced the death on X, writing that the struggle to free the country from the bandits continues with unchanged determination. The National Police described Saintil as an alleged gang leader and said he was neutralised in a recent law enforcement operation. The Boston gang is named after a neighbourhood in Cité Soleil, an impoverished part of the capital that the gangs largely control.

Conflicting accounts of how he died

Accounts of the death differ. Reuters reported, citing a report from the Haitian National Human Rights Defense Network, that Saintil suffered serious abdominal wounds in a drone attack on the Boston district on Thursday, 5 November, and died the following day in hospital. Al Jazeera reported that police described an exchange of gunfire and that he was struck by multiple bullets, while a police source said he died later in hospital. Deutsche Welle reported that a kamikaze drone struck the vehicle he was travelling in on Thursday night, killing other members of his gang as well. The prime minister did not name the gang leader in his post, so the identification rests on local media reports and an anonymous source cited by The Independent.

Gang overture to the disarmament body

The 400 Mawozo gang, which is separate from the Boston gang, said on Friday that it had reached out to Haiti's National Commission for Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration in pursuit of peace, stability and national reconciliation. In a three-page statement sent to The Associated Press, it described dialogue as a patriotic duty to protect lives. The United Nations and human rights groups accuse the gang of rape, killings and kidnappings, which it denies. Its leader Wilson Joseph told the AP on 1 November that he had written to the UN secretary-general asking for a delegation to mediate, fearing that Salvadoran troops would escalate the violence. The gang said it plans to join a peaceful demonstration later this month, and a spokesperson said it is willing to negotiate while disarmament is a process. The commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Salvadoran troops and the security push

Deutsche Welle reported that Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele sent more than 2,000 soldiers to Port-au-Prince to search for four Salvadoran members of the Gang Suppression Force who have been missing since 18 October, after an ambush by armed gangs in the Santo area of Croix-de-Bouquets. Thousands of people demonstrated in Port-au-Prince and other cities on the same day as the news of Saintil's death to support those soldiers. Since arriving, the Salvadoran troops have intensified operations against gangs in several neighbourhoods of the capital. Reuters noted that Haitian authorities had taken a firmer stance against the gangs in the weeks before the operation. The Gang Suppression Force began arriving in Haiti in April 2026 with a mission to neutralise, isolate and deter gangs.

Humanitarian toll

The UN counted 1,123 people killed in gang violence between July and October 2026, with another 440 injured. Rates of sexual violence remain high, with 689 cases of gang-involved rape recorded between July and August. At least 1.4 million people have been displaced from their homes, particularly in the capital area. The UN estimates that half of the country's gang members are children and teens under 18, since gangs often recruit young people with promises of food, income and protection.

Killed1,123

Injured440

Killed

1123 people

Injured

440 people

Data from the article text