SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — One of that of Haiti The most powerful gang leaders confirmed to The Associated Press on Monday that he had written to the UN secretary-general and requested that the organization send a delegation to Haiti for dialogue and mediation, amid fears that Salvadoran troops could be deployed after the disappearance of four aeronautical technicians of this country could lead to an escalation of violence.
Wilson Joseph, better known as Lanmò Sanjou and leader of the 400 Mawozo gang, told the AP in his first interview with a major international media company that the technicians are dead and the attack of October 18 occurred while they were in the territory of Chen Mechan, another gang. He provided no evidence; The Haitian government has said the four Salvadorans have been kidnapped and believes they are alive.
Joseph said he was upset that drone attacks were killing civilians in the region, and that clashes had been escalating for a year. UN-backed gang suppression force work with Haitian police and soldiers, as well as with Vectus Global — the private security company founded by Erik Prince, former founder of the US Navy SEAL and Blackwater — began fighting armed men in the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac, near Port-au-Prince, after the attack on the Salvadorans.
Joseph said the same Haitian politicians who armed gangs in Haiti are bringing in foreign troops “to destroy us.”
He said he had a message for El Salvador Nayib Bukele, who recently deployed 2,000 troops to Haiti: “Haitian politicians are the fathers of gangs and rebels. … Politicians don’t want this to stop.”
In his letter, Joseph writes: “Given the vengeful remarks, expectations and threats of Mr. Nayib Bukele, I fear that this situation will lead to an escalation of violence and a logic of reprisals, of which the Haitian people would be the first victims. »
Questions revolve around surveillance of Salvadoran troops
Joseph claimed in his interview with the AP that politicians were warning him against any security operations headed his way.
He added that he had no problem with forces arresting gang members, but he accused forces of dropping drones and killing children and the elderly.
Joseph said he was ready to dialogue and lay down his arms, but when asked what he wanted in return, he refused to answer, adding that he would talk about it when he sat down with a peace commission. He also rejected accusations that 400 Mawozo had killed innocent Haitians.
In a statement Monday evening, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said he had received a letter bearing Joseph’s signature: “However, the receipt of such a letter does not constitute an endorsement of its contents, an acknowledgment of its author or a position on the part of the United Nations.”
He stressed that the vast majority of Salvadoran military personnel are not deployed as part of the U.N.-backed gang suppression force, “and therefore fall outside the scope” of the U.N. mandate and reporting.
“We would like to emphasize that the United Nations remains concerned that communities continue to bear the brunt of the situation in Haiti,” he said, adding that any type of security operation “must be conducted in full compliance with applicable international law.”
Gang leader calls for ‘peaceful solution’
Joseph stated in his letter that recent events in the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac, particularly where another gang, Chen Mechan, operates, “raise serious concerns.”
Joseph wrote that he was “officially available” to receive the delegation he had “respectfully” requested and that he would “participate in any meeting aimed at finding a peaceful solution, a dialogue agreement and a lasting stabilization process.”
“I remain convinced that dialogue must prevail over force,” he declared. “The protection of civilians, particularly vulnerable children and families, must be at the heart of any international initiative,” Joseph wrote.
More than 5,700 people were killed or injured across Haiti between January and mid-September, according to the UN.
In the two-page letter sent on November 1, Joseph claims to have “officially raised the white flag” since August 20 and to seek a “peaceful solution to the national crisis, in particular through the opening of a dialogue between the international forces present in Haiti and the group of 400 Mawozo”.
The group, which roughly translates to “400 Simpletons,” operates largely in Croix-des-Bouquets, a community near Port-au-Prince. A spokesman for the gang, who requested anonymity, accused the government of abandoning the area and said that was why Joseph took over its leadership. The gang is known for carrying out kidnappings, including October 2021 of 17 missionaries16 of them come from the United States and one from Canada. There were five children in this group and all were eventually released.
The spokesperson denied that these were kidnappings but rather a measure of “justice” given sexual abuse accusations against a former missionary. The spokesperson also said that 400 Mawozo is not a terrorist organization and that uneducated youths who would be used by politicians would be killed.
The US government placed a $1 million reward on Joseph, who was indicted in the US in 2022 on charges of hostage-taking and conspiracy to commit hostage-taking.
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