Wilson Joseph, a Haitian gang leader wanted by the United States, has asked the United Nations to mediate talks with international forces in Haiti. El Salvador is sending more than 2,000 troops into the country to search for four of its soldiers who went missing after a gang ambush.
The four soldiers were serving with the Gang Suppression Force, a mission backed by the UN Security Council, UN News reported. They disappeared during an attack by armed groups on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince on Oct. 18. Media reports said the troops El Salvador sent at the end of October are on a mission to rescue them.
Gangs control most of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and have terrorized Haitians for years as they fight over territory and resources, UN News reported. The force was set up to take on the gangs, protect vital infrastructure and get humanitarian aid moving.
Joseph, nicknamed Lanmò Sanjou, leads the 400 Mawozo gang, which UN News described as notorious for kidnappings for ransom. He sent a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres calling for dialogue and presenting himself as ready to negotiate peace. The United Nations confirmed on Monday evening that it had received the letter but distanced itself from the contents.
“The receipt of such a letter does not constitute an endorsement of its contents, nor an acknowledgment of its author, nor a position taken by the United Nations,” Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the Secretary-General, said in a note to the press.
In the letter, Joseph requested that a UN delegation be sent to hold discussions with his group. According to reports, he claimed to have “officially raised the white flag” as he seeks a peaceful solution to the crisis. The gang leader fears the Salvadoran intervention will provoke an increase in reprisals against civilians, and he notes that the four missing soldiers are now dead.
Haitian authorities consider the four soldiers missing. The Salvadoran government believes they are still alive.
Joseph’s conciliatory stance contrasts with his organization’s past, UN News reported. Based in Croix-des-Bouquets, northeast of Port-au-Prince, 400 Mawozo kidnapped 17 missionaries from the United States and Canada in October 2021. The FBI is offering a $1 million reward for information leading to Joseph’s arrest.
The force is authorized to have 5,500 personnel, but the number remains well below that target. UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the vast majority of the additional 2,000 Salvadoran troops operating in Haiti are not deployed under the Gang Suppression Force. He said all security operations in Haiti, whether under the force or by national authorities and their partners, must follow applicable international law, including international human rights law and international humanitarian law.
Civilians continue to bear the brunt of the violence, UN News reported. More than 5,700 people were killed or injured between January and mid-September this year, and nearly 1.5 million Haitians were forced to flee their homes because of violence and insecurity. According to the United Nations, around 6.4 million people, more than half of the population, require humanitarian assistance.