Haiti Gang Uses Hostage Threat to Deter Police Drone Strikes in Kenscoff – SOFX
Armed men killed at least 47 people and abducted more than 50 others during an assault on the town of Kenscoff, in the hills above Port-au-Prince, on the night of August 23, the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) said. It is one of the largest mass kidnappings recorded in Haiti in years.
At least 47 people were killed and over 50 kidnapped after armed men raided the community of Kenscoff, Haiti, late Sunday. pic.twitter.com/09cNIPjG22
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 26, 2026
A gang figure identifying himself as Izo 2 has since tied the fate of the hostages directly to Haiti’s use of armed drones. In a video posted to social media, he warned National Police Director Vladimir Paraison against deploying them near the town. “Paraison, if any of our soldiers are hurt, I will kill all of them,” he said, referring to the captives.
The threat targets the central tool of Haiti’s counter-gang effort. Since March 2025, a government task force operating alongside Vectus Global, a private military company led by Blackwater founder Erik Prince, has run explosive-laden “kamikaze” drones against gang positions.
These loitering munitions hover over a target before crashing into it and detonating. Human Rights Watch has said the strikes killed more than 1,240 people through January 2026, including individuals with no established gang ties.
By threatening to execute captives if drones are used, Izo 2 is attempting to convert the hostages into a shield against the one capability that has pressured the gangs.
Kenscoff’s mayor, Jean Massillon, said the attackers burned 25 homes and struck a church where displaced residents had sheltered. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said 22 of the dead were reportedly executed inside that church compound. At least five of those killed were children, and 22 people were wounded, according to BINUH.
The raid exposed a widening gap in Haiti’s security posture. María Fernanda Arocha of the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project said security operations had cut violence in Kenscoff by 66% between January and August compared with the same period in 2025. Those gains concentrated forces in central Port-au-Prince, she said, leaving rural approaches thinly held.
Kenscoff sits at a strategic chokepoint. Control of the town would let gangs encircle the upscale district of Pétion-Ville and dominate routes linking the capital to southern Haiti.
The UN-backed Gang Suppression Force, authorized at 5,550 personnel, has deployed roughly 1,000 so far. Armed groups control an estimated 70% of Port-au-Prince, and a UN tally put killings from April through June at 1,408.
The prime minister’s office said “Kenscoff will not be abandoned.” The National Police said Paraison ordered more specialized units into the town and opened an investigation into whether local officers failed through “complicity or negligence.” No official accounting of recovered hostages has been released.