One of Haiti’s most powerful gang leaders has written to UN Secretary-General António Guterres asking for a UN delegation to mediate a dialogue, as fighting intensifies near Port-au-Prince after four Salvadoran aviation technicians went missing.
Wilson Joseph, known as Lanmò Sanjou and leader of the 400 Mawozo gang, confirmed the letter in an interview with the Associated Press on Monday. He told the AP that the four technicians, attacked on October 18 in Plaine du Cul-de-Sac, are dead, but offered no evidence. El Salvador’s government believes they are alive.
The incident prompted President Nayib Bukele to deploy more than 2,000 Salvadoran troops to Haiti. “Given Mr. Nayib Bukele’s vengeful remarks, expectations, and threats, I fear this situation will lead to an escalation of violence and a logic of reprisals, of which the Haitian people would be the first victims,” Joseph wrote, according to the AP.
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric confirmed the letter had been received but said that did not constitute an endorsement of its contents or recognition of its author.
The 400 Mawozo gang is known for thousands of kidnappings, including the abduction of 17 missionaries in 2021. The United States has offered a $1 million reward for Joseph, who is indicted on hostage-taking charges. The UN says more than 5,700 people were killed or injured across Haiti from January to mid-September.
Sources: Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, Infobae
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