Haitian Gangster Asks U.N. for Help After Bukele Attack

Haitian gang leader Wilson Joseph, who uses the alias “Lammo Sanjou” as leader of Haiti’s feared 400 Mawozo gang, said on Monday that his group did not kill four missing technicians from El Salvador and pleaded for help from the United Nations to avert the vengeance of Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele.

Four technicians from El Salvador were reported missing on October 18 after their vehicle was ambushed near a gang stronghold in Haiti. In response, Bukele sent another 2,000 combat troops to Haiti and threatened to destroy the gangs who have overrun the island.

“I want you, the gang leaders, to understand one thing very clearly: today’s attack is nothing compared to what is coming if we do not get all four hostages back alive,” Bukele said last week.

“And do not take our words for empty threats. We have already finished with the gangs in El Salvador, and we can finish with you too,” he added, referring to the enormous prisons he constructed, and quickly filled, to control his own country’s problem with organized crime.

Wilson Joseph’s operation, 400 Mawozo, is the largest of Haiti’s organized crime rings. The gang has been linked to numerous human rights abuses and criminal assaults, notoriously including the abduction of Christian missionaries in 2021.

Joseph is wanted by the FBI in connection with the kidnapping and he was placed under U.N. Security Council (UNSC) sanctions in 2023 for crimes including murder, kidnapping, sexual violence, and recruiting child soldiers.

Joseph claimed on Monday that another gang called Chen Mechan kidnapped the Salvadoran technicians and subsequently killed them. He did not provide any evidence for his accusations. The Salvadoran government officially believes the missing technicians are alive.

Joseph further complained that stepped-up operations by the U.N.-backed multinational Gang Suppression Force (GSF), Haitian security forces, and private contractors hired by the Haitian government are killing civilians. He advised Bukele to direct his wrath at the corrupt politicians who turned Haiti into a lawless wasteland.

“The Haitian politicians are the father of the gangs and the rebels,” he said. “The politicians don’t want this to stop.”

“Given Mr. Nayib Bukele’s vengeful remarks, expectations, and threats, I fear this situation will lead to an escalation of violence and a logic of reprisals, of which the Haitian people would be the first victims,” he wrote.

Joseph wrote a letter to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday, asking for the U.N. to intervene against Salvadoran forces in Haiti. He also asked the U.N. to mediate talks between the gangs and Bukele, and said he was “officially available” to receive the U.N. delegation he “respectfully” requested.

“I remain convinced that dialogue must prevail over force. The protection of civilians, particularly children and vulnerable families, must be at the heart of any international initiative,” he said.

Joseph’s letter pinned the blame for gangster crimes against civilians on other groups, including Chen Mechan, and said 400 Mawozo has “officially raised the white flag” to seek a “peaceful solution to the national crisis.”

Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for Guterres, confirmed on Tuesday that the U.N. has received Joseph’s letter.

“Receipt of such a letter does not constitute endorsement of its contents, recognition of its author, or a position by the United Nations,” he stressed.

Dujarric said the U.N. does not have operational control over the Salvadoran troops in Haiti.

“The United Nations is aware of the reports about additional Salvadoran military personnel being deployed to Haiti. The vast majority of those are not deployed under the Gang Suppression Force (GSF) and, therefore, fall outside of the scope of the UN Support Office’s mandate and reporting,” he said.

“We reiterate that all security operations conducted in Haiti, whether under the framework of the GSF or by national authorities and their partners, must be carried out in full accordance with applicable international law, including international human rights law and international humanitarian law,” he said.

Haitian media reported that Salvadoran troops launched their first major operation against 400 Mawozo and Chen Mechan on Monday, fighting skirmishes across the Cul-de-Sac Plain north of Haiti’s capital city, Port-au-Prince. At least 12 people were allegedly killed in the clashes.

The Haitian National Police (HNP) and the U.N.’s Gang Suppression Force also reported large-scale operations in the same area to eliminate gang checkpoints and protect local civilians.

Yet another Haitian gang, Viv Ansanm, denounced the Salvadoran operation as an “invasion” and reportedly threatened residents of the area with harm unless they turned out in large numbers to protest against the security operation.

Haiti’s interim prime minister, Alix Didier Fils-Aime, made his first statement since the disappearance of the Salvadoran technicians on Tuesday. Fils-Aime assured Haitians that the interim government was in charge of all foreign deployments.

“The international force is not here to replace the state. They’re here to support us,” he said, flanked onstage by a Salvadoran army colonel, HNP officials, and a commander of the U.N. Gang Suppression Force in a show of unity.

Fils-Aime made a point of thanking Bukele for his support. “He understands our fight. He came to stand on the side of the Haitian people,” he said of the Salvadoran leader.

“We are leading this fight with determination against the gangs to eradicate them,” Fils-Aime promised. “With reinforcement, the gangs won’t have time to sleep. Every armed group that is causing terror in the country, your time has almost expired.”