Haitian Gangs Attack UN Force and Delay National Elections
Haitian gangs launched a major attack on the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force and forced the indefinite postponement of presidential and legislative elections.
Armed gangs in Haiti launched their first major attack on the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF) on Sunday in Croix-des-Bouquets. Using explosives and heavy gunfire, attackers targeted an armored vehicle carrying four Salvadoran aviation technicians. While the technicians escaped the burning vehicle, they remain unaccounted for, and rescue efforts by the Military of El Salvador were hampered by ongoing fighting.
During a Monday UN Security Council briefing, GSF special representative Jack Christofides reported that hostile incidents against the force surged from two to fifteen in a single month. U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz condemned the attack as cowardly, warning gang leaders that their days of operating with impunity are numbered. The GSF, which replaced a Kenya-led force in September 2025, currently has over 2,000 troops on the ground from nations including Chad, Jamaica, Guatemala, and El Salvador, though it remains understrength compared to its 5,550 authorized members.
The escalating violence has led to the indefinite postponement of presidential and legislative elections originally scheduled for December 13. UN official Carlos Ruiz Massieu cautioned that security operations alone cannot bring lasting stabilization and warned against setting new election dates without a realistic feasibility assessment. Between July and early October, gang-related violence killed 1,123 people, with gangs now controlling an estimated 70% of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
