Pont-Sondé Under the Grip of Gangs: Residents Raise an Alarm

PONT-SONDÉ, Haiti – Sunday, November 30, 2025 — The locality of Pont-Sondé, in the Artibonite department, is once again under the grip of terror. Since Friday evening, bandits have been besieging the area, causing a new wave of despair among residents who feel abandoned by the authorities.

Faced with the resurgence of attacks, the community has launched a desperate SOS. Residents denounce the absence of law enforcement to protect them and neutralize criminals who operate with impunity. « Residents feel abandoned and denounce the inaction of police authorities, accused of having taken no measures to neutralize the criminals », reports a witness on site.

The Trauma of October 4, 2024

This new wave of violence reawakens the still vivid trauma of October 4, 2024, when more than 70 people, including 10 women and 3 infants according to a United Nations report, were massacred in Pont-Sondé during a similar attack. More than a year after this tragedy, the population bitterly notes that insecurity persists, despite promises from the authorities.

General Outrage

The lawyer and political figure, though criticized, André Michel, speaking through the SDP collective and the signatories of the December 21 agreement, denounces this violence in the Artibonite department, relaying the residents' call for help. « The criminal gangs of Gran Grif brought tears to the eyes of the population of Pont-Sondé last night. We ask the HNP to take its responsibilities. We are not in dialogue with gangs. No amnesty for gangs », he declared on his X account, formerly Twitter.

As the security crisis worsens day by day, the population of Pont-Sondé, like many others across the country, still awaits the State to assume its fundamental sovereign role: to protect the lives and property of its citizens.