RSF condemns gang attack in Haiti that killed two reporters, wounded seven others
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reiterates the need for urgent action by Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council, with international support, to protect journalists and the right to information, after an armed gang opened fire on reporters covering the reopening of a hospital, killing two and wounding seven others, amid a continuing security crisis.
Haiti’s media professionals sustained this appalling toll shortly before midday on 24 December at the entrance to the Haitian State University Hospital (HUEH) in the centre of the capital, Port-au-Prince, when gang members in nearby buildings opened fire with automatic weapons on reporters, medical personnel and officials who were awaiting the arrival of a government motorcade for the official reopening ceremony.
Journalists Markenzy Nathoux and Jimmy Jean were killed and Petyon Robens, Réginald Baltazar, Miracle Velondie, Florise Deronvil, Jean-Jack Aspèges, Jocelyn Justin and Rosemond Vernet were injured in the attack, in which a policeman was also killed. Video posted on social media shows police officers trying to remove the dead and wounded while under heavy fire from the gang members.
On 25 December, the government undertook to provide the victims and their families with material and psychological support, and to bring the attack’s perpetrators to justice.
“Two journalists were killed and seven others were wounded for trying to cover the reopening of a hospital. This unacceptable tragedy is a cruel reminder of the extreme dangers that media professionals face in Haiti. The pledges given by the government on 25 December are to be welcomed, but we expect rapid action not only in this regard but also to end the shocking level of criminal violence that threatens journalists and the right to information. We reiterate the urgency of international support to protect reporters and we call on the Transitional Presidential Council to include journalists’ safety as a priority in talks to end the crisis.
Journalism in Haiti is beset by an unprecedented crisis, marked by extreme criminal violence that has intensified since 2022, when at least six journalists were killed in connection with their work. The country is mired in deep political and social turmoil, marked by Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s resignation in March 2024 and exacerbated by the growing control that armed gangs exercise over Port-au-Prince and other regions.
The worsening security situation directly affects journalists, who live in constant fear of being attacked, kidnapped or killed. This violence is perpetrated with complete impunity, in an environment in which the rule of law is virtually non-existent. RSF and more than 90 Haitian journalists responded last April by issuing an appeal to the international community and the Transitional Presidential Council to protect the right to information.
With United Nations backing, a Kenyan-led multinational mission was deployed in support of the Haitian police in April but it has so far failed to curb the growing power of the gangs, which continue to use armed violence to wreak havoc and disrupt the country’s basic infrastructure.
