On Thursday, September 10, 2026, Albert Ramdin, Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), denounced the existence of "a certain collusion" between politicians and armed gangs in Haiti and warned that these links could compromise the credibility of the upcoming elections.

"There is a certain collusion between the political world and the gangs. I am saying this clearly because everyone knows it, but no one is talking about it," Ramdin stated during a press conference.

The Secretary General, who visited Haiti in August, explained that he had raised with the authorities the need to establish clear rules to prevent candidates linked to criminal organizations from running in the elections, while stating that he had received no clear response on this matter.

"If we know precisely which candidates are involved and which ones have been allowed to participate in the elections, we will then be able to fully assess the impact of the links with criminal organizations," he said.

Ramdin, who considers the Haitian crisis an absolute priority, identified insecurity as the main obstacle to holding elections and questioned both the effectiveness of the Gang Supression Force (GSF), deployed with UN approval, and the lack of support from some countries that had pledged to contribute to the mission.

"Holding elections depends on a favorable security climate," Ramdin insisted, referring to the escalating violence that has plagued the country for years.

The official schedule sets the first round of presidential and legislative elections for December 13, 2026, and the second for February 21, 2027. According to UN data, violence in Haiti resulted in at least 3,050 deaths and 1,401 injuries during the first half of the year.

HL/ HaitiLibre