PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haitian authorities say they have killed the leader of one of the capital’s most notorious gangs, the latest blow in an intensifying offensive that now involves thousands of Salvadoran soldiers, private security contractors and attack drones.
Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé confirmed the death of Mathias Saintil, leader of the Boston gang operating in the Cité Soleil slum. “One less gang leader,” the prime minister declared on social media, vowing that the fight to free Haiti from criminal gangs would continue.
The killing comes as at least one major armed group signals it may be ready to talk.
Conflicting accounts of his death
Officials and a human rights group gave different explanations of how Saintil died. The Haitian National Police said he “was hit by several bullets in the Nòlyo area” during an operation.
The National Human Rights Defense Network, however, said Saintil was fatally wounded when an explosive drone was deployed between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. Thursday in the area known as Nan Nélio, striking his home and one of his vehicles.
Saintil died Friday, Nov. 6, a day after coordinated police operations swept five communes of Port-au-Prince with at least seven kamikaze drones.
A pickup truck carrying 15 armed gang members affiliated with Ti Gabriel, the leader of the Brooklyn gang, who were heading to reinforce Saintil, was intercepted by task force members. Five were killed, six were injured and the others fled.
A powerful coalition
Saintil’s gang is affiliated with the powerful Viv Ansanm coalition, which controls large sections of the capital and has expanded into other parts of the country. The Trump administration designated Viv Ansanm a Foreign Terrorist Organization in May 2025, and a human rights lawyer told CNN three weeks ago that no major gang leader had been killed in Haiti in years.
El Salvador’s surge
The operation comes amid a dramatic escalation in foreign military involvement. The disappearance of four Salvadoran personnel on Oct. 18 prompted El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele to dispatch more than 2,000 troops and military hardware to Haiti.
The deployment was approved at the highest levels. Bukele called President Donald Trump to make sure he had no objection to the escalation, which Haiti’s government agreed to. “We came to Haiti to fight against the wicked,” Bukele wrote on X in Haitian Creole.
The Salvadoran force largely operates on its own. The U.N. has said that most Salvadoran personnel in Haiti are operating outside the framework of the U.N.-backed Gang Suppression Force, which works with Haiti’s police and military as well as Vectus Global, the private security firm founded by former Navy SEAL and Blackwater founder Erik Prince.
On Nov. 2, Salvadoran troops in armored vehicles advanced into Plaine du Cul-de-Sac, reportedly killing at least a dozen members of the 400 Mawozo and Chèn Méchan gangs.
Gang seeks dialogue
The pressure appears to be having an effect on at least one group. The 400 Mawozo gang said it reached out to a government agency responsible for dismantling armed gangs in a push for “peace, stability and national reconciliation.”
In a three-page statement to The Associated Press, the gang stressed that “dialogue is not a capitulation,” calling it an act of patriotic responsibility to preserve human lives.
When asked what it seeks in exchange, a spokesperson said peace and an end to what the gang called “international interference.”
The gang’s leader has also appealed to the United Nations. Wilson Joseph wrote to the U.N. Secretary-General asking for a delegation to come to Haiti for dialogue and mediation, citing fears that Salvadoran troops could further escalate violence. Security forces have also targeted Joseph, whose home was bombed during a recent operation.
The gang’s record is grim. The U.N. and human rights groups have accused 400 Mawozo of raping, killing and kidnapping people, which it has denied.
Concerns over civilian harm and coordination
The offensive has raised alarms. The human rights organization raised concerns about civilian casualties from the drone attacks. As of Nov. 2, at least a dozen gang members had been killed and 30 civilians wounded in the Salvadoran operations.
Critics also warn that the security effort lacks coordination. An analyst identified as Le Cour noted that five separate structures are operating on the ground, each with its own mandate and rules. “Haiti’s security response is already an orchestra without a conductor,” he said.
What comes next
The government says the campaign will continue, while the fate of the four missing Salvadoran personnel and any possible talks with armed groups remain unresolved. Whether the offensive can lastingly loosen the gangs’ grip on Port-au-Prince, without causing more harm to residents caught in the crossfire, remains the central question.
