Port-au-Prince, Haiti — Armed gunmen kidnapped the head of Haiti’s security council this morning, sources confirm, plunging the capital deeper into a state of lawlessness. The abduction of Jean-Pierre Romain, who oversaw the country’s anti-gang taskforce, marks a brazen escalation in the battle for control of this failing state.
Romain was seized at dawn from his convoy in the Delmas district, according to police officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. The attackers, believed to be linked to the notorious G-9 gang alliance, ambushed the vehicle with automatic weapons and grenades. Two bodyguards were killed. Three others are missing.
The kidnapping follows a surge in violence that has left parts of Port-au-Prince in ruins. Gangs now control an estimated 80% of the capital. The airport remains closed. The US embassy has evacuated non-essential staff. Haiti’s prime minister, Ariel Henry, is trapped abroad, unable to return.
“This is a declaration of war,” said a senior security analyst familiar with the situation. “Romain knew where the bodies were buried. He was tracking the money that flows from the political elite to the gangs.”
Uncovered documents obtained by this newsroom reveal that Romain had been building a case against prominent business leaders who allegedly financed the very gangs now holding the city hostage. The documents, verified by two independent sources, show bank transfers from shell companies to gang accounts, with notations linking them to a former senator and two wealthy importers.
Romain’s disappearance chills that investigation. His office was ransacked hours after the abduction, confidential files and hard drives stolen. The timing suggests inside knowledge.
The gangs are not just street-level thugs. They run protection rackets, control fuel supplies, and have infiltrated state institutions. A leaked UN report from last month warned that Haiti’s security forces are so compromised that gang leaders are often tipped off about operations within minutes.
This kidnapping lays bare the rot at the centre of Haitian power. The security chief was supposed to be the one man who could clean it up. Now he is a bargaining chip.
Demands are expected within 48 hours. Sources in the government tell me the kidnappers are asking for the release of three jailed gang lieutenants and a ransom rumoured to be in the millions. The government has not confirmed this.
Meanwhile, the streets are empty. Shops are shuttered. The only traffic is armoured vehicles and pickup trucks carrying young men with rifles. The international community watches from a distance, issuing statements.
But statements don’t stop bullets. And they don’t bring back a kidnapped security chief.
What happens next will determine whether Haiti has any state left at all. If Romain is not returned, the gangs have effectively proven they are the real power in Port-au-Prince. If he is ransomed, the pattern is set: no official is safe.
The money trail leads to the top. And the top is silent.
