Increased Drone strikes in Haiti raises concerns

Haitian security forces and private contractors working with them have conducted extensive and apparently unlawful lethal drone strikes, the organisation Human Rights Watch ,has said.

The strikes, at least some of which appear to be deliberate extrajudicial killings, have been carried out with quadcopter drones armed with explosives in densely populated urban areas, in some cases killing and injuring dozens of people, including children and other residents who are not members of criminal groups, the non-profit said in a release.

According to data from multiple sources reviewed by Human Rights Watch, at least 1,243 people were killed by drone strikes in 141 operations between March 1, 2025, and January 21, 2026, including at least 43 adults who were reportedly not members of criminal groups, and 17 children. The data also shows that the drone strikes injured 738 people, at least 49 of whom were reportedly not members of criminal groups, Human Rights Watch noted.

“Dozens of ordinary people, including many children, have been killed and injured in these lethal drone operations,” said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch.

“Haitian authorities should urgently rein in the security forces and private contractors working for them before more children die.”

The United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti has attributed the drone attacks in Haiti to a specialized “Task Force” established by Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé that is operated with support from the private military company Vectus Global. The US ambassador to Haiti has confirmed that the US State Department issued a license to Vectus Global to export defense services to Haiti.

Human Rights Watch interviewed five relatives of people killed or injured in a September 20, 2025, attack, as well as six community leaders, doctors, and others who either visited the site, or spoke to or treated victims afterward. Researchers also interviewed the relative of a woman killed in a different drone strike on January 1, 2026. The National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH) and the Eternal City Child Protection Committee (Komite pwoteksyon pou timoun Site Letènèl, or KPTSL), both Haitian civil society groups, facilitated interviews with relatives.

In the September 20 attack, American Watch said a drone armed with an explosive device detonated near the “Nan Pak” sports and cultural complex in the Simon Pelé neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince, the capital, where children had gathered for a gift distribution by the Simon Pelé criminal group. Human Rights Watch found that 10 people who were not members of criminal groups, including nine children ages three to 12, were killed.

The number of armed drone attacks in Port-au-Prince has significantly increased in recent months, Human Rights Watch further stated, with 57 reported between November and January 21, nearly double the 29 from August through October. Over forty percent of reported killings took place between December 1 and January 21. The average number of people killed per operation is 8.8, with the most lethal operation killing 57 people.

The attacks occurred in nine communes in the West Department: Cabaret, Cité Soleil, Croix-Des-Bouquets, Delmas, Kenscoff, Léogâne, Pétion-Ville, Port-au-Prince, and Tabarre. Human Rights Watch said it reviewed information from multiple sources concerning the operations.

Researchers also analyzed seven videos uploaded to social media or shared directly with Human Rights Watch that demonstrate the use of armed quadcopter drones and geolocated four of them to Port-au-Prince. The videos show the repeated use of drones equipped with explosives to attack vehicles and people, some of them armed, but none who appear to be engaged in violent acts or pose any imminent threat to life. These videos bolster the impression that many of the drone attacks are attempts to target and extrajudicially kill people, rather than a law enforcement response that might justify the deliberate, lethal use of force.

Quadcopter drones can maneuver between buildings while tracking individuals and moving vehicles. They transmit detailed live video feeds to their operators, who control both the drones’ flight and use of weapons.

Some people living in Port-au-Prince told Human Rights Watch that drones are a constant source of terror, leaving some afraid to leave their homes.

“I live with this fear, this anxiety, all the time,” said a shopkeeper living in Martissant. “I pray that the drones will no longer be in our area.”

Neither Prime Minister Fils-Aimé, the Haitian National Police nor the private military company Vectus Global responded to Human Rights Watch requests for comment.