Drones used by Haitian security forces and private contractors have killed at least 1,243 people and injured 738 others in less than a year, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.
Among those killed were 17 children and 43 adults who were not believed to have belonged to a criminal organization. According to the human rights group, at least 49 of the injured were believed to be civilians. The murders took place between March 1, 2025 and January 21, 2026.
It was said that 57 people were killed in the deadliest drone operation.
“Haitian authorities should urgently rein in the security forces and private contractors who work for them before more children die,” Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.
A spokesman for the Haitian National Police did not respond to a request for comment.
The nonprofit said the number of armed drone strikes in Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince, which is 90 percent controlled by gangs, has “increased significantly” in recent months. Fifty-seven attacks were reported between November and the end of January, almost double the 29 attacks reported from August to October last year.
Human Rights Watch said its researchers analyzed seven videos uploaded to social media or shared directly with the group showing armed quadcopter drones in action, and geolocated four of them in Port-au-Prince.
“The videos show the repeated use of drones equipped with explosives to attack vehicles and people, some of whom are armed but none of whom appear to be involved in acts of violence or pose an imminent threat to life.” said the group.
Human Rights Watch said it had not found widespread use of drones by criminal groups.
One of the attacks highlighted in the report occurred on September 20, 2025, in the Simon Pele neighborhood, a deeply impoverished community controlled by a gang of the same name.
The drone strike killed nine people, including three children, and injured at least eight others as the leader of the Simon Pele gang prepared to distribute gifts to children in the area.
Among those killed was a six-year-old girl, whose unidentified mother was quoted as saying: “In the rooms where the gangs are, there are innocent people, people raising their children, following normal paths.”
According to Human Rights Watch, the families of those killed said the criminal group organized and controlled access to their funerals.
“Some residents said that only people who had accepted money or support from the criminal group were allowed to attend the funeral,” their report said.
“Authorities should also ensure transparency and accountability for any unlawful death as a result of a security operation and promptly conduct thorough and independent investigations to disclose the number and identities of victims to the fullest extent possible and provide appropriate redress for violations.”
Volker Turk, the U.N. human rights chief, said the use of lethal force against gangs in Haiti was unnecessary, disproportionate and likely a violation of international law.
Last year, the Haitian government created a new task force that operated outside the supervision of the Haitian National Police and used explosive drones. The task force consists of certain police units and private contractors.
In mid-2025, Vectus Global, the security company of the controversial former Blackwater founder Erik Princeis expected to send nearly 200 employees from various countries to Haiti under a one-year contract to quell gang violence there.
Haitian police also work with a United Nations-backed mission led by the Kenyan police, which remains underfunded and understaffed. It is expected to transform into a so-called anti-gang unit in the coming months.
Gang violence has helped thwart the prosecution of 20 people, including 17 Colombian soldiers and three Haitian officials, who face charges in Haiti over the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. The investigation was repeatedly interrupted by the resignations of judges who feared for their lives, and in 2024 powerful gangs seized control of the courthouse in downtown Port-au-Prince.
With the Haiti case stalled, opening statements are scheduled to begin Tuesday in U.S. federal court for four defendants accused of conspiring in South Florida to kidnap or kill the former Haitian leader and related charges after a jury was selected the day before. Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, Walter Veintemilla and James Solages each face life sentences.
Christian Sanon was also scheduled to go on trial in Miami, but his lawyer confirmed Monday that Sanon’s case was separated from the others for medical reasons. A separate trial for Sanon will be scheduled at a later date.
According to court documents, South Florida served as a central location for planning and financing the plot to overthrow Moïse and replace him with someone of the conspirators’ choice.
The trial of all five defendants was originally scheduled for last year, but the judge agreed to postpone the case due to investigative difficulties and the large amount of evidence
