Millions of Haitians regularly don’t get enough to eat. They have access only to dirty, contaminated water. The turmoil of their struggle for survival has resulted in more than 1,630 people killed, wounded or kidnapped in the first three months of 2023, according to the United Nations Integrated Off

Currently, neighborhood groups are handing out machetes and setting up checkpoints to keep gang members out.

According to a New York Times report June 3, there has been a very sharp reduction in kidnapping and killing following the killings of gang members. The Times proclaims concern about vigilantism, that is, the self-organization for combat within the community independent of the police, and speculates about a potential reaction from the gangs.