The horrific violence reflected public outrage over the increasingly criminal situation in Port-au-Prince, where gangs have taken control of 60% of the city since the July 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise.
Six other charred bodies were later found in another area, with some witnesses saying they were killed by police and set on fire by residents, but these reports have not been independently verified.
The Haitian National Police said in a brief statement that officers stopped and searched a minibus in the Canapévere district on Monday morning for contraband and seized weapons from the suspects before they were “unfortunately lynched by residents.” The statement did not specify how the suspects came under mob control.
A witness said the mob led the gangsters away from the police, beat them and threw stones at them, before piling tires on top of them, dousing them with petrol and setting them on fire.
The burning of the gangsters attracted the attention of hundreds of curious people. The area of Canapewor where it happened has so far managed to avoid falling under the control of criminal gangs.
