Jacmel City Shut Down in Protest; Gang Violence in Sud-Est Called 'Orchestrated' Expansion

The city of Jacmel was effectively brought to a standstill on April 16, 2026, as protests over the deadly Seguin gang attacks entered a second day, with residents forcing the closure of schools, offices, and commercial enterprises. Haitian human rights organizations and the local Chamber of Commerce described the attacks as 'orchestrated' — coordinated offensive operations by Viv Ansanm-affiliated armed groups to establish footholds in the Sud-Est department, which had until recently been largely spared from the gang war devastating Port-au-Prince and the Artibonite. At least eight people had been killed and over 4,000 displaced since the April 13 attacks. Human rights groups issued statements criticizing the Haitian government and the international community's Gang Suppression Force (GSF) — which with only approximately 195 advance personnel remained far from operational capacity — for their failure to protect citizens in regions outside the capital. The protests highlighted a growing fear that Haiti's security collapse was now genuinely national in scope rather than concentrated in Port-au-Prince and Artibonite.