At least 81 people were reported kidnapped in Haiti between April and June 2026, according to U.N. statistics, a 42% increase from the first quarter. The jump comes as the country prepares for its first general elections in more than a decade and gangs target prominent people in neighborhoods once considered safe.
A Breakdown of Basic Security
In June, kidnappers took James Boyard, police inspector general and cabinet director of Haiti's Defense Ministry, in broad daylight from Bourdon, a relatively safe Port-au-Prince neighborhood. He hasn't been released. Local media also reported that kidnappers took well-known attorney Caleb Jean-Baptiste and Stéphanie Paultre, director general of Haiti's National Office for Educational Partnerships.
Romain Le Cour, head of the Haiti Observatory at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, didn't mince words. "Elections act as accelerators," he said. "It exposes cracks, failures and the state's inability to protect even its own." Haiti hasn't had a president since Jovenel Moïse was killed at his private residence in July 2021.
Le Cour pointed to inside help. Criminal groups use official or cloned police uniforms, vehicles and license plates, he said, and some law enforcement agents allegedly took part. "It takes intelligence to kidnap high-level targets, and that intelligence usually comes from collusion," he said.
Families Left to Fend for Themselves
Most Haitians don't report abductions. They fear reprisals, higher ransoms or disrupted negotiations. In a rare move, attorney Dorime Boulos held a press conference in mid-September to announce a fundraiser to free Jean-Baptiste. "We don't have the amount they're asking for," he said, declining to reveal the figure. Private citizens are passing the hat for a rescue the state hasn't delivered.
The numbers reveal how entrenched the business has become. Mass kidnappings began around 2020, when reports counted 234 cases, up 200% from 78 in 2019. Reports reached 655 in 2021 and 1,359 in 2022. They hit 2,490 in 2023, then 2,058 in 2024. In 2025, reported cases fell nearly 40% to 1,268, but they're rising again. The real total is believed to be much higher.
Government Response
At a meeting during the recent U.N. General Assembly, Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé said restoring security is a top priority. He said 4,000 new police officers are being trained in 2026 and another 1,500 soldiers have completed training. The plan calls for 15,000 new soldiers over three years. In late September, Haiti's National Police said nearly a dozen officers had completed training to negotiate with kidnappers.
"We are strengthening our national forces to meet our security challenges," Fils-Aimé said. "Given the scale of the challenges, the support of our international partners for security remains essential."
On Tuesday, September 29, 2026, the U.N. Security Council renewed the mandate of a U.N.-backed gang suppression force. The force has almost 1,600 personnel, and Daniela Kroslak, assistant secretary-general and head of mission of the U.N. Support Office in Haiti, said its size would likely double soon. "Over the next three months, this will all pick up quite considerably," she told The Associated Press.
Gangs Test the State
This summer, gangs attacked Kenscoff, a farming community near Port-au-Prince, killing at least 164 people and kidnapping more than 70. They later released six children and seven women. The rest remained captive, "creating a very concerning precedent," Le Cour said.
In the waning days of September, gangs in Petite-Rivière held hundreds of civilians hostage for two days after police arrested a couple of gang members. At least eight people were killed and 10 injured, said Bertide Horace, spokesperson for the Commission for Dialogue, Reconciliation and Awareness to Save the Artibonite. "People were trying to escape, and they shot them for no reason," she said. "The state needs to take more action."
Le Cour said every major wave of kidnappings has followed a political rupture, including the fall of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004 and Moïse's assassination in 2021. "No one is out of reach," he said.
Why This Matters: A state that can't protect its own security chief can't promise much to ordinary citizens, investors or voters. The facts point to a basic question of order: police training numbers are climbing, yet kidnappers use police uniforms and, allegedly, insider intelligence. Foreign-backed forces may add muscle, but the prime minister says Haiti's own forces must carry the load. Families are already raising private money for ransoms because they can't count on the authorities. Any election held under these conditions will test whether the government can secure voters, candidates and the neighborhoods where its institutions operate. Rebuilding that capacity, not just announcing it, is the measure to watch.