As Haitian authorities prepare to postpone the country’s long-awaited Dec. 13 general elections and revise the rules for a third time, a new United Nations report is warning that political players remain intertwined with armed gangs — relationships that can be exploited to mobilize supporters, intimidate opponents and destabilize the electoral process.

The report by the U.N. Panel of Experts on Haiti, tasked with investigating the country’s security crisis and providing information that can be used to impose international sanctions, singles out several political players as it puts the spotlight on how political interests are driving violence in Kenscoff and the Artibonite region, two areas that have been the site of recurring massacres.

The 94-page report paints a disturbing and explosive picture describing how gangs, so-called self-defense groups, politicians and corrupt members of the security forces all see a business opportunity in Haiti’s unstable security environment, and risk perpetuating the country’s cycle of violence.

“The Panel is concerned about collusion between some members of local authorities and gangs within public institutions,” the group said after describing how an active member of the Brooklyn gang led by Gabriel Jean-Pierre, alias “Ti Gabriel,” was appointed in May to a new municipal commission in Cité Soleil established by the central government.

“These ties aim at consolidating territorial control and influencing upcoming elections, also building on Ti Gabriel’s long-standing political connections with a former member of parliament for Cité Soleil,” the panel said.

The report also raises concerns about the effectiveness of the U.N. sanctions regime. It found that delays by Haitian financial institutions, including the central bank, in freezing the assets of sanctioned individuals allowed them to transfer assets or conceal them under the names of third parties. Of the nine individuals who had been sanctioned by the U.N. at the time of the report, only accounts belonging to gang leader Kempes Sanon and the only politician in the group, former lawmaker Prophane Victor, had been frozen, the panel said, and they contained small sums.

“The meager amounts of money frozen by banks do not correlate with the wealth accumulated by those individuals,” the panel report said.

In the case of Victor, the total amount was less than $1,000, and none of his fixed assets had been identified and frozen.

“The hesitancy by Haitian authorities to take immediate action to freeze bank accounts and seize property of sanctioned individuals and entities leaves” room for individuals to move their assets out of reach for sanctions, the panel said.

The sanctions have also not stopped designated individuals from continuing to commit severe human rights abuses, including killings, rapes, kidnapping for ransom, forced recruitment of children, destruction of property and extortion. The reach of sanctions remains limited, the panel said.

While the current electoral decree bars people under U.N. sanctions from running for president, Parliament or local office, the panel said it’s likely to have a limited effect because people involved in supporting gangs are not on the sanctions list.

“The vast majority of those involved in supporting gangs and destabilizing the country have yet to be designated,” the report said.

Diego Da Rin, Haiti analyst at the International Crisis Group, notes that despite the reluctance of Security Council members to blacklist Haitian politicians, the panel’s latest findings “show once again how closely violence in Haiti remains tied to politics, while Haitian authorities and their foreign partners are doing little to break the links between criminal gangs and powerful elites.”

“Everybody agrees that Haiti cannot break the cycles of violence unless the longstanding ties between armed groups and the elites who support them are cut. Yet, little is being done to address that issue,” he said. “The U.N. can continue to impose travel bans and asset freezes on gang leaders, but these measures have no impact on criminals who have no passports or bank accounts in their names.”

Some Security members have expressed concerns that designating political figures would interfere in Haiti’s internal affairs, particularly with elections approaching, while others have criticized the lack of enforcement on an arms embargo. Da Rin says the risk of not designating political figures “is that the same actors who have worked with gangs could return to power.”

Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council has not yet set a new date for the elections, though it has extended registration deadlines. Reports suggest that the vote will take place sometime next year, and that among the modifications the group will make is the removal of several documents, including one from the Banque de la République d’Haiti, the central bank, confirming that an individual isn’t barred from opening an account due to sanctions.

Ammo, high-powered weapons

The panel said they investigated several incidents during the reporting period. Among them: how armed groups continue to have access to ammunition and high-powered rifles.

“During the reporting period, both Gran Grif and Kokorat San Ras gangs have regularly displayed new material, pointing to a combination of direct supply from traffickers based abroad, inter-gang transfers — particularly from the Canaan gang led by Jeff Larose — and diversions from Haitian national police stockpiles,” the report said.

The panel investigated a network of officers of the Departmental Law Enforcement Unit selling ammunition to gangs, primarily operating out of the Pat-Chawal police substation in the Saint-Marc area . They also documented boxes and ammunition used by gangs and one self-defense group that are consisted with ammunition imported by the Haitian Armed Forces.

“Although the chain of custody of the ammunition is unclear, the Panel was informed that a portion of the ammunition imported by the Haitian Armed Forces had been transferred to the Haitian National Police,” the panel said.

The report highlights several political figures and former officials including Victor, who has also been sanctioned by the United States and is currently imprisoned in Haiti; Youri Latortue, a former president of the Haitian Senate; Rosemila Petit Frère, a former mayor of Arcahaie, an administrative district in the West region that includes Port-au-Prince; former Deputy Alfrédo Junior Antoine who represented Kenscoff in Parliament; former Sen. Nenel Cassy of the Nippes region, and former senator and presidential candidate Jean-Charles Moise.

Both Victor and Latortue have been linked to armed groups in the Artibonite through the provision of arms and ammunition, according to the panel. Victor contributed to the rise of the Gran Grif gang, while Latortue supported the Roboteau and the Kokorat San Ras gangs. The panel said Latortue subsequently turned against Kokorat San Ras after its leader, Bendjy, publicly denounced him as the founder of the gang. Latortue has repeatedly denied any gang affiliation.

Case against a former mayor

The U.N. panel said its investigation into illicit financial activities connected to gang financing also led them to Petit Frère, who led Arcahaie’s Town Hall from 2016-20.

A businesswoman, she has had “a long-standing relationship with gang leaders of Viv Ansanm,” the powerful coalition that came together in 2024 and has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the Trump administration, the report said, and has offered them financial and logistical support.

“Ms. Petit Frère also acted as an intermediary between gangs and other actors,” the panel said. “She was a key player in perpetuating the criminal-political-economic nexus between gangs, political, security and economic actors, including in facilitating communications and financial transactions.”

The panel said the information was corroborated by two U.N. member countries. After Petit Frère was arrested in August 2025 when going through the Dominican Republic from Canada, investigators uncovered messages that the panel said implicated her in supporting several Viv Ansanm leaders, including Renel Destina, alias Ti Lapli, the leader of the Grand Ravine gang.

Petit Frère is also accused of passing confidential information about impending police operations to Ti Lapli and other members of Viv Ansanm.

According to the U.N. report, Petit Frère regularly exchanged information with Victor as well as with Magalie Habitant, whom the panel described as “a key intermediary” between gangs and economic backers and financiers.

Petit Frère is also accused of receiving sensitive investigative reports from corrupt police officers, which she funneled to Victor and Habitant to help them prepare their legal defenses, and used her relationship with corrupt cops to obtain contracts to supply uniforms to the police without competitive bidding or adequate oversight.

The former politician laundered funds through three Haiti-registered companies and used political connections to make strategic appointments in the government the report said, adding she used embezzled funds, in the case of a director general of the Social Assistance Fund, to funnel money to the head of the Krache Dife gang, Jean Gardy.

Petit Frère denied the allegations.

“The Panel reviewed the information shared by Ms. Petit Frère and shared it with the Committee. The Panel stands by its findings,” the U.N. report said.

Former members of Parliament

The report also highlights Antoine and Cassy, former lawmakers who were the subject of warrants by the Haitian national police.

The panel accuses Cassy of supporting armed groups to advance his political agenda. The report said he controls a criminal group, the “BLTS,” in the Miragoâne area. The group specializes in the illegal possession of firearms, murder, kidnapping for ransom, collective rape, truck hijacking and armed robberies, according to the report.

Cassy also contributed to the creation of Fantome 509, the armed group that emerged in 2018 and includes police officers.

“Fantome 509 was involved in the disruption of public order, arson and the vandalization of public and private property, and the killing of police officers,” the panel said. The group has also surfaced repeatedly in the Miami federal trial stemming from the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse..

“Nenel Cassy and his associates also perpetrated an attempted kidnapping with the subsequent assassination of a Haitian diplomat in February 2021,” the panel said. “Mr. Cassy sought to foment chaos in Haiti by planning armed attacks against airport infrastructure in Port-au-Prince, Les Cayes and Cap-Haïtien. He organized frequent meetings that led to attacks to destabilize Kenscoff in collusion with Viv Ansanm.”

Two U.N. member nations provided information linking Cassy to Haitian gangs, according to the report. Cassy was arrested in August 2025 on accusations that included conspiracy against state security, financing criminal groups, attempted murder and association with criminals. He was released 17 days later, prompting criticism from civil organizations and others.

“Despite official claims that the case is being re-examined, sources close to the investigation said that the case had been dropped,” the panel said.

The report linked Antoine, who recently filed to represent Kenscoff in the upcoming elections, to multiple attacks in Kenscoff and said he was “one of the main sponsors” of one on Jan. 27, 2025, that resulted in over 100 deaths, multiple cases of rapes, robberies and the burning of homes.

“Since then, gangs have taken over areas of the commune, causing severe unrest among residents,” the report said.

Though Antoine was arrested in April 2025 after being accused of several crimes, including financing criminal organizations and complicity in murder and criminal association, he was released about a month later.

Since 2016 Antoine has armed and supported youth groups in the area as a political tool for his agenda, the panel said. “These groups either subsequently developed into gangs or became affiliated with them. He is also responsible for the kidnapping and illegal detention of individuals, using gangs and other armed individuals to intimidate political opponents or illegally seize property.”

The panel said Antoine planned attacks with gangs in several neighborhoods of Kenscoff, communicated frequently with members of Viv Ansanm, was in regular contact with Habitant and had close ties with gang leader Vitel’homme Innocent .

“He was identified as one of the suppliers of firearms, ammunition and financial resources to Viv Ansanm, using an intermediary. Several illicit firearms were also found at his residence,” the panel said. The group notes that before running for Parliament, Antoine was imprisoned for fraud and was arrested for illegally taking control of property, forgery and the use of forged documents.

Antoine denied his connections to gangs in an email to the panel.

“Foreign powers seeking to help Haiti need to face the fact that the country’s justice system is currently too weak and vulnerable to manipulation by influential individuals to hold accountable those who continue to support gang violence,” said Da Rin, referring to the establishment of two special judicial units to investigate those involved in corruption and massacres to support efforts of the new U.N.-authorized Gang Suppression Force.

“The fight against violence must go hand in hand with efforts to end impunity,” he added. “Successful military operations against gangs will amount to little more than a pause in the violence unless those who support armed groups are held accountable.”

Eel smuggling

The panel also looked at the smuggling of baby eels, one of the most lucrative natural resources in Haiti, with one kilogram going for between $3,000 and $5,000 on the international market.

While the sector is poorly regulated and masked in secrecy and corruption, it is mainly dominated by Jean-Charles Moïse, the former senator form the North region and the head of the Pitit Dessalines political party.

“According to sources, Mr. Moïse’s network decides who works in the office that issues elvers export permits. He wields political and economic power over the elvers sector, controlling the elvers supply chain from exploitation to trade,” the panel said, noting his influence over the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development through which export licenses are issued, as well as customs officials in charge of overseeing exports.

“Similarly, Mr. Moïse puts pressure on some customs officials to give in to his tax-evasion demands. Those who fail to comply get transferred elsewhere. Any refusal to give in to his demands or accept his bribes leads to punishment, as testified by some of his victims,” the panel said.

In a warning, the panel said the sector will remain vulnerable until Haiti accedes to international treaties regulating the trade.

The panel accuses Moïse of running “a syndicate of illicit exporters linked to a wider regional network operating” in the waters of the Caribbean.

“By doing so, he contributes to the weakening of Haiti’s economy while abetting smuggling criminal networks that impact the region.”

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