Revisiting Haiti´s Gangs and Organized Violence

This paper consititues a modest attempt to unpack what is known and what is unknown about Haiti's armed urban groups. It is based on a review of the existing literature as well as qualitative and quantitative analysis of data collected from members of armed groups, their funders, their partisan backers, and residents of the neighborhoods in which they operate. The paper starts by examining how armed urban gangs are defined by outsiders and how they define themselves. Next the paper presents findings from qualitative interviews with members of armed groups including discussions about their understandings of the nature and justification for armed conflict. The paper concludes by presendting suggestions for determining the organization and intensity of armed conflict involving urban gangs in Haiti.