“We can secure the country,” says Michel-Ange Gédéon, former Director General of the Haitian National Police

Speaking at the Global Haitian Diaspora Forum on Saturday, December 13, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Michel-Ange Gédéon, former Director General of the Haitian National Police (PNH), delivered a poignant testimony on the weakening of the police institution and the continuous degradation of the security climate in Haiti. With a calm and composed tone, a deep voice, and an imposing stature, Mr. Gédéon confessed to feeling indebted to the nation for a lucid, rigorous analysis, free from any political rhetoric. This column is inspired by his intervention at the forum and the discussions that followed. Michel-Ange Gédéon is a career police officer who climbed all ranks of the PNH, reaching its summit. He was appointed interim Director General on April 8, 2016, before being ratified by the Senate of the Republic for a three-year term. A graduate of the 8th PNH promotion and a trained manager, he successively headed the police stations of Grand-Goâve, Carrefour, and Port-au-Prince. He subsequently served as Divisional Commissioner, Departmental Director of the West, then Inspector General, before acceding to the general directorship of the police institution. Today, a United Nations security expert for Haiti, Mr. Gédéon states that he deliberately kept political considerations at bay during his time at the head of the PNH. According to him, a different attitude would undoubtedly have earned him other mandates if he had succumbed to numerous political pressures and solicitations. His record notably includes the arrest of several gang leaders who now dominate and paralyze the metropolitan area. These operations, he emphasizes, were often followed by interventions from political authorities or judges demanding the release of the incarcerated individuals. The Thorny Issue of Border Control Under his leadership, Mr. Gédéon maintains, the PNH had adopted a Strategic Development Plan aimed at anticipating and compensating for the withdrawal of the UN force, MINUSTAH. This plan notably sought to permanently occupy the areas now invested by armed gangs. It envisioned an increase in PNH personnel to approximately 21,000 agents to contain the proliferation of armed banditry hotspots. However, in 2025, Mr. Gédéon specifies, more than 125 gangs have been identified, totaling nearly 30,000 armed men. The PNH, for its part, theoretically has only about 11,000 police officers, who are generally under-equipped and poorly supervised. What's worse, the PNH faces structural deficits that far exceed its scope of competence. For example, there are nearly a hundred entry and exit points for illegal weapons between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, only four of which are officially recognized. It therefore becomes practically impossible to trace the circulation routes of firearms within the national territory. The legal acquisition of weapons remains extremely restrictive for the PNH, while the informal market operates unhindered for the benefit of armed gangs. This scourge is not new. In his time, Michel-Ange Gédéon had favored a strategy of regularizing weapons in circulation, giving less importance to their origin than to the identification and accountability of their holders. This approach aimed, at least, to establish a beginning of traceability and control. Before being dismissed by the late President Jovenel Moïse from the head of the PNH, the former Director General had thus legalized approximately 40,000 weapons. At that time, the number of illegal weapons in circulation was estimated at nearly 200,000. Five years later, the situation has profoundly deteriorated. What was once a circumscribed problem has turned into a systemic cancer. Michel-Ange Gédéon knows insecurity from the inside. He recognizes its scent and understands its workings. He perceived its signs, mastered its mechanisms, and saw the catastrophe unfolding long before it erupted into the open. As Director General of the PNH during some of the most tumultuous periods in the country's recent history, he stood before the graves of brave officers who died for the Haitian flag. He met the gaze of mothers demanding justice, a justice that the system, too flawed, is unable to grant them. He had tried to limit the damage. Without success. His efforts, he regrets, were sacrificed at the altar of political interests. Some even held him responsible for the insecurity, claiming he was of Lavalas obedience, having been appointed by interim President Jocelerme Privert. Instead of supporting him, the Tèt Kale 2.0 regime deemed it appropriate not to renew his mandate in order to find more obedient successors. His visit to Parliament in the uniform of an agent from the Anti-Narcotics Trafficking Office (BLTS) had irritated unscrupulous parliamentarians. Even the most upright parliamentarians had not appreciated the gesture. And this had compromised his reappointment as head of the PNH. When he was in charge, he emphasizes, the PNH faced gangs and criminality that were still relatively circumscribed. The situation today is radically different. At the time, gangs primarily functioned as instruments serving political, economic actors, or local kingpins. Now, they have acquired financial and operational autonomy. They have their own sources of funding – kidnappings, extortions, arms trafficking, and ransom points – and have transformed into genuine paramilitary organizations, to the point of challenging the very sovereignty of the State. Consequently, a large part of the population lives in displacement camps, losing their homes, businesses, or even family members. The diaspora, for its part, has stopped returning to the country. Some of its members have stopped building retirement homes in their hometowns. They are forced to send money for the funerals of loved ones whom they cannot even bury with dignity. “You pay a ‘war tax’ in the form of remittances that go to kidnappers instead of funding education,” Mr. Gédéon laments, addressing members of the diaspora. Without concealing his bitterness at the persistent difficulties of the PNH in staying the course, Michel-Ange Gédéon nevertheless affirms his confidence in the institution. “I know the men and women of the Haitian National Police. Most are patriots. Every morning, they leave their homes without knowing if they will return alive. But they are under-equipped, underpaid, and too often abandoned by the political class,” he confides. He continues: “Such a crisis cannot be solved with slogans. It is not enough to say that the police must work harder. Courage alone is not enough to wage a war: it requires strategy, logistics, and, above all, political will.” Examining current security plans and United Nations (UN) resolutions, Mr. Gédéon concludes that there is a path forward, but it is narrow. The plan on the table, he believes, which provides for a specialized international support mission working with the PNH, and not above it, is the best tactical option. Why? Because the PNH needs a break. Haiti, according to him, needs a force capable of taking heavy fire, holding strategic points, and securing logistical routes: ports, airports, and highways. This will allow the PNH to focus on its main missions: community policing, investigations, and intelligence. However, he argues, international forces are only a palliative, not a miracle solution. He declares: “The solution must come from Haitians. The solution is a reformed, rigorously controlled, and well-equipped Haitian National Police. The solution is a judicial system that truly imprisons criminals, so that the police no longer have to arrest the same individual five times.” The Strategic Role of the Population and the Diaspora The diaspora also has an important role to play in solving the insecurity problem. Michel-Ange Gédéon peremptorily states: “You, the diaspora, are the economic lung of Haiti. But you must also become its strategic brain. I ask you to rethink your commitment to the homeland.” He prescribes a three-point solution. First, the diaspora must stop funding chaos. Second, it must advocate for equipment, not just intervention. And finally, it must demand professionalism, not favors. Regarding the funding of chaos, Mr. Gédéon points to certain diaspora funds that, in the past, contributed to political fragmentation. He specifies: “Sometimes, in your desire to help your candidate or your region, you finance actors who undermine the foundations of the central state. As a former police chief, I ask you: carefully examine your support. Do not send money to individuals who promise to ‘clean up’ a neighborhood with private weapons. This is how warlords are born. Support institutions. Support hospitals. Support schools. Do not support private violence.” On the issue of equipment, the former Director General of the PNH is categorical: “When you address Washington, Ottawa, or Paris, be precise. Don’t just say: ‘Save Haiti.’ Instead, say: ‘The Haitian police need armored personnel carriers, drones, and encrypted radios.’ He adds: “During my mandate, I often faced embargos or bureaucratic delays in obtaining basic equipment. You have the political power to lift these blockages. Use your vote to ensure that the Haitian National Police has the necessary tools to fight effectively.” Regarding professionalism, Mr. Gédéon laments that it is too frequent for individuals to solicit the Director General for favors: “Help my cousin,” “Release this person.” Such behavior fosters impunity. To remedy this, the former Director General proposes several avenues: “We must establish a culture where the police are respected and not instrumentalized. Support the background check process. If a corrupt officer is dismissed, do not defend him on the pretext that he comes from your village. To build an integral police force, we need the support of the diaspora to ensure strict accountability, even if it proves difficult.” Michel-Ange Gédéon issues a vibrant call to civic duty. Throughout his career, he claims to have witnessed “the worst of human beings, but also the best.” In the latter category, he mentions: “I have seen police officers share their meager meals with street children. I have seen communities mobilize to protect their neighborhoods.” He himself admits to sometimes sharing part of his salary with informants to obtain intelligence to thwart the actions of armed bandits. Mr. Gédéon advocates for resolute support for integral police officers who, despite adversity, continue to uphold the law. He urges honest citizens to become the spokespersons for reason, unity, and responsible, structured support for law enforcement. Convicted that “we can still secure the country, reopen roads, and allow everyone to return home safely,” he warns, however, that this objective will remain out of reach as long as divisions among key actors prevail. Nothing will be possible either without the engagement and collaboration of every citizen. It is in this spirit that he calls for a collective mobilization, based on professionalism, an effective strategy, and patriotism, to bring lasting peace to Haiti. A peace essential for organizing credible elections, restoring constitutional order, establishing lasting political stability, and initiating economic recovery.