At least 70 people were killed and 30 others wounded in a brutal attack by the Gran Grif gang in the rural communities of Jean-Denis, near Petite-Rivière in Haiti's Artibonite region, human rights groups confirmed on Monday, a death toll far exceeding official government estimates. The coordinated assault, which began in the early hours of Sunday and continued into Monday morning, saw heavily armed gang members storm the area, setting dozens of homes ablaze and indiscriminately shooting at residents attempting to flee the flames. While the Haitian National Police initially reported 16 dead and 10 injured, local human rights organizations and UN officials have revised the toll upward, with the head of the UN office in Haiti, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, stating on Tuesday that at least 70 were killed in the "brutal and coordinated" attacks.
The Defenseurs Plus rights group, in a joint statement with the Collective to Save the Artibonite, condemned what it called the "complete abdication of responsibility by the authorities," citing the lack of security response that allowed the armed group to operate with impunity. The group estimated that approximately 6,000 people have been displaced by the violence, while the United Nations reported that over 2,000 residents had already fled the area in the days prior due to escalating gang activity. The attackers, identified as members of the Gran Grif gang, reportedly used roadblocks, deep holes dug in the roads to slow the arrival of the three armored vehicles dispatched by police, by which time the perpetrators had already fled and dozens of homes had been reduced to ash.
An audio message circulating on social media, attributed to Gran Grif leader Luckson Elan, claims the attack was retaliation for assaults on the group's base in Savien by a rival armed faction. Gran Grif, which was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the United States in May 2025, has been accused of mass killings, gang rapes, arson, theft, and trafficking in guns, drugs, and organs. The group was previously responsible for the October 2024 massacre in the nearby town of Pont-Sonde, which left 115 dead as armed men went door to door shooting residents. This month, the United States offered a reward of up to $3 million for information on the financial networks of Gran Grif and the Viv Ansanm coalition of gangs.
The Artibonite department, once known as Haiti's agricultural breadbasket, has become one of the epicenters of the country's escalating gang violence, with conflict spreading beyond the capital, Port-au-Prince, despite promises of international support. The United Nations reported last week that gang violence and security operations targeting gangs led to more than 5,500 deaths between March 2025 and mid-January. Since 2021, close to 20,000 people have been killed in gang-related violence across Haiti, with the death toll rising each year as armed groups grow increasingly independent and powerful.