Collapse of public administration

Haiti authorities on Friday confirmed gang leader Mathias Saintil was ​dead, after Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime ‌said on X there was “one less gang leader.”
“The fight to free the country from the grip of ​bandits continues with determination,” Fils-Aime added.
A ​National Network for the Defense of Human ⁠Rights report seen by Reuters said Saintil ​suffered serious abdominal wounds in a drone strike ​in Boston, a gang-controlled neighborhood on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince on Thursday night and died the following day ​while receiving treatment.
The reported killing, one of ​the biggest blows to Haiti’s gang leadership since 2024, ‌comes ⁠amid an intensified security campaign involving Haitian authorities and newly deployed Salvadoran troops, as the government pushes to restore stability ahead of newly delayed ​elections.
Around 2,000 ​Salvadoran troops ⁠have deployed to Haiti since last month following an ambush in ​which four Salvadoran members of a ​U.N.-backed ⁠force went missing.
Some Haitians have expressed support for the Salvadoran deployment and Salvadoran President ⁠Nayib ​Bukele’s hard-line approach to gangs, ​with pro-Bukele demonstrations reported in parts of the country on ​Friday.