The ordeal of Haitian media professionals takes a new turn with the abduction, on Sunday, September 6, 2026, of Wesly Renaud Jean, a journalist with Radio Télé Métropole. The press worker was snatched from his freedom in Delmas 31, a neighborhood of Port-au-Prince that has become synonymous with terror, while traveling in his vehicle. According to initial information reported by his relatives and relayed by several media outlets, armed men affiliated with the criminal coalition “Viv Ansanm” are believed to be behind the kidnapping.
This new abduction is part of a wave of violence hitting the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, particularly the stronghold of Delmas. About ten kidnapping cases have been recorded in recent days alone, plunging the population into a state of permanent psychosis.
The fate of the Métropole journalist tragically echoes the disappearance of his colleague Osnel Espérance, kidnapped and then murdered in March 2026, to whom a tribute was paid at the Saint-Paul church in Delmas 31. For Haitian journalists, practicing their profession has become a daily gamble in a country abandoned to gangs.
Faced with this escalation, the track record of the security policy led by the Director General of the Haitian National Police (PNH), André Jonas Vladimir Paraison, is more than alarming. Appointed head of the PNH over a year ago with the mission of curbing insecurity, he is now being singled out for his powerlessness. Far from decreasing, acts of kidnapping and massacres perpetrated by gangs are multiplying under his administration. Police officers are even regularly assassinated while on duty, symbols of an institution losing its footing. A striking contrast was illustrated by the police chief’s media-savvy visit to Delmas for traffic checks, while a few kilometers away, in Kenscoff, his men were suffering heavy losses in the face of a gang offensive.
This security paralysis comes as rumors have been circulating for several days about a possible replacement of the PNH chief. Prime Minister and President of the Superior Council of the National Police (CSPN), Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, who has been governing the country alone with the Council of Ministers since February 2026, remains silent. No decision has been made, leaving the population in uncertainty and criminals in a position of strength.
The authorities’ inability is all the more glaring as the Gang Repression Force (FRG), presented as a robust solution, is at an impasse. Designed to be more effective than the MMAS, it has failed to stem the violence. Its full deployment, initially scheduled for October, has already been compromised by logistical constraints. The assessment is unanimous, including among human rights defenders: the FRG is not yet operational, and the bandits continue to call the shots.
In this chaos, the organization of elections scheduled for next December appears more hypothetical than ever, as the FRG cannot even secure the roadways. The “Viv Ansanm” coalition, increasingly powerful, imposes its law, and the Haitian state seems, for now, completely helpless.
