Gang leader in Haiti threatens to execute more than 50 hostages days after 47 killed

A gang leader in Haiti has threatened to execute more than 50 hostages days after 47 people from a once-peaceful farming community were killed.

Haiti's National Police is facing mounting criticism as to why it failed to prevent the attack in Kenscoff, near Port-au-Prince.

One gang leader has threatened to execute all the hostages if any gang members are killed, and police spokesperson Garry Desrosiers said he could not answer questions on how police were preparing to rescue the hostages.

Mr Desrosiers said: "We cannot talk about any plans."

He added that police are aware of a gang leader threatening to attack Tabarre, a neighbourhood within Port-au-Prince which is home to the US embassy.

The new burst of violence has left more than 2,600 people displaced, according to the UN International Organisation for Migration.

Vladimir Paraison, head of Haiti's National Police, who recently defended security measures in Kenscoff, said an investigation was underway to establish the truth about the attack - and whether it succeeded due to "complicity or negligence".

Security operations had managed to reduce violence in Kenscoff by 60% between January and August this year, before Sunday's attack, according to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, a non-profit organisation.

US deportations continue

As Haiti reels from the attack, the US deported dozens more people to the country on Thursday.

One of them was professional boxer, Jay Dabelus, who said he was born in the Bahamas.

He said: "I don't know anything about Haiti. I wasn't born here."

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Guerline Jozef, executive director of Haitian Bridge Alliance, a US-based humanitarian group, said: "We are deeply concerned about the safety of Haitians in Haiti, and those being returned to a country where the government cannot currently guarantee their protection."

According to UN statistics, gang violence has displaced nearly 1.5 million people across Haiti, with more than 3,050 killed from January to June.

(c) Sky News 2026: Gang leader in Haiti threatens to execute more than 50 hostages days after 47 killed