A vigilante lynch mob fatally beat and burned 13 suspected gang members on Monday in Haiti's capital city, which has largely been controlled by criminals since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. A shocking video has emerged that captures the suspected gang members begging for mercy before the lynch mob burns them alive.
The mob beat and burned the 13 men to death with gasoline-soaked tires after pulling them from police custody during a traffic stop in the country's capital Port-au-Prince, police and witnesses said. The gang members who were beaten and burnt alive on Monday were linked to the Kraze Barye gang, according to witnesses.
Lynched in Public in Broad Daylight
According to witnesses, the alleged criminals were on their way back up their associates in a shootout with police when they were attacked. Cops had stopped a minibus and taken the suspects' firearms before the stop but the suspects were "unfortunately lynched by members of the population," the Haiti National Police stated in a brief statement.
However, it didn't explain how the mob was able to evade law enforcement to carry out the terrible bloodshed.
According to Edner Samuel, a witness to the horrifying incident, the mob pummeled the alleged gang members into submission before setting tires on top of them, dousing them with gasoline, and setting them ablaze.
The video captures the moment people in the mob beat the men as they cry in pain and beg for mercy. The mob then starts piling tires on them and burns them alive.
Gunshots had been heard ringing out all morning, according to witness Jean Josue, in the nearby district of Turgeau, where Samuel claimed the gang suspects were on their way to join other members of their criminal organization who were battling police there.
Unrest in Haiti
The chaotic spectacle demonstrated how Port-au-Prince has descended into anarchy since Mose was assassinated, leaving a political void in the island nation that is thought to be the poorest in the Western Hemisphere.
The city of one million people is believed to be dominated by criminals to the tune of 60%. Canape Vert, a steep suburban neighborhood, had so far managed to elude gang rule.
According to witnesses, the gang suspects killed on Monday had ties to the Kraze Barye group.
The leader of the group is Vitel'Homme Innocent, who is suspected of being involved in both the murder of Moise and the abduction of 17 American missionaries in 2021.
US authorities have detained at least 11 people in South Florida in connection with the murder, which is thought to have been carried out by scores of Colombian mercenaries who broke into Moise's presidential compound in the middle of the night.
According to a 2021 New York Times investigation, Moise had been creating a list of influential Haitian politicians and businessmen associated with a drug trafficking network in the months prior to his death.
"I applaud the considerable and meritorious efforts of the National Police to restore order and peace in our cities and neighborhoods," Prime Minster Ariel Henry tweeted in French Monday night. "There is still a lot to do."
