Port-au-Prince Under Gang Control
Abstract
Port-au-Prince has descended into urban warfare, with armed gangs controlling 90 percent of Haiti’s capital as of October 2025. This violence has displaced 1.4 million people and left thousands dead. Armed with US-sourced weapons and sustained by transnational trafficking networks, the gangs’ territorial conquests reveal how illicit arms flows and money laundering undermine weak states. The crisis challenges conventional development frameworks and demonstrates that urban fragility constitutes a growing global threat. Haiti’s experience offers crucial lessons for policymakers confronting similar dynamics in vulnerable cities worldwide.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Crime
Illicit Activities
and Governance
Political Conflict and Governance
Peacebuilding and International Security
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Current History
- Volume
- 125
- Issue
- 868
- Pages
- 57–63
- Publication date
- 1 February 2026
- Language
- EN