Haitian police and MSS retake Kenscoff’s Téléco site from gangs amid aviation threats

PORT-AU-PRINCE — Haitian police (PNH), backed by forces from the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS), regained control of the strategic Téléco site in Kenscoff mountain Monday, Aug. 25, from the armed gang Viv Ansanm, whose occupation of the base had disrupted communications and endangered aviation safety.

MSS spokesperson Jack Ombaka said the operation involved a coordinated sweep through the mountainous commune, about 12 miles southeast of Port-au-Prince. Security forces went house-to-house, seizing weapons, clearing roads blocked by barricades and apprehending or killing several gang members. After the joint operation, residents were once again able to move freely.

“The joint high command has warned that anyone who continues to bear arms [illegally] will face decisive action, and further targeted operations are already underway,” Ombaka said. 

He thanked local residents for their cooperation and their resilience as forces worked to secure the area above the Port-au-Prince hills.

The Téléco base is a crucial telecommunications and signal hub supporting civil aviation, internet, media, and public safety operations across the country. Its capture by gangs last week disrupted communications, caused concern at the National Civil Aviation Office (OFNAC), and increased worries as Port-au-Prince remains under a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) flight ban following multiple aircraft being struck by gunfire in 2024.

This was not he first attack on the Kenscoff’s Téléco site. In February 2025, an attack by the “Viv Ansanm” resulted in the death of a Haitian Armed Forces (FAd’H) soldier, two agents of the Protected Areas Security Brigade (BSAP) and injuries to two other soldiers.

At that time, the PNH, assisted by MSS officers, launched an operation to retake the site, which had fallen under gang control.

A direct threat to civil aviation as the FAA ban is still in effect

On Aug. 21, the terror group Viv Ansanm attacked the site once again, cutting cables and broadcasting videos of their takeover. The gang coalition, led by notorious and U.S.-indicted Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier, initially pushed into Kenscoff, killing residents, forcing scores to flee, burning homes and orchestrating kidnappings—including eight from a local orphanage. 

OFNAC confirmed sabotage of its equipment but said mitigation measures prevented major flight disruptions.

“Efforts are underway to fully restore affected services as quickly and efficiently as possible,” OFNAC officials said in a statement on Aug. 23.

The gang faced little resistance in its latest assault. In one video, a masked man identified as “Izo 2” was seen disconnecting aviation equipment with a screwdriver while declaring victory.

The FAA imposed its commercial flight ban in November 2024 after two commercial planes were hit by gunfire near Toussaint Louverture International Airport. One Spirit Airlines flight was forced into an emergency diversion, followed by an American Airlines jet that was struck during landing.

“The joint high command has warned that anyone who continues to bear arms [illegally] will face decisive action, and further targeted operations are already underway.”

Jack Ombaka, MSS spokesperson

The ban, initially temporary, has been extended repeatedly and now remains in place until at least next month. As a condition for resuming operations, the commercial carriers demanded security guarantees, which caused the transitional government to demolish over 200 residential houses built around Toussaint Louverture International Airport. According to authorities, these homes were being used as hideouts by gangs.

Even domestic carriers such as Sunrise Airways also suspended flights to and from Port-au-Prince until the Haitian government offered security guarantees and a financial insurance package in June. The deal allowed limited flights to Cap-Haïtien, Jacmel, Jérémie and Les Cayes to resume.

Violence spreads to provinces

The fight for Kenscoff’s Téléco site underscores gangs’ growing ambition to control strategic infrastructure, but violence is also spreading in provincial towns—particularly in the Artibonite and the Centre departments as those criminal groups march toward the north. 

In Gros-Morne, Artibonite, where repeated attacks have occurred, at least five people were killed and two kidnapped on Sunday, Aug. 24, by the gang Kokorat San Ras. Among the abducted was entrepreneur Wednaire Gédéon, owner of Union Gros-Morne Radio station.

This attack occurred just one day after the return of Divisional Commissioner Jacques Ader as head of the Artibonite Departmental Police Directorate, a position he previously held in 2021 during a period of intensive fight against gangs. His comeback underscores the instability of police leadership in the department, which has seen frequent reshuffling over the past five years.

• Ader had first replaced Louis Edner Hyacinthe in December 2020, before being succeeded by Jean Joël Casséus in June 2021.
• Casséus was then replaced by Ralph Dominique in December 2021, followed by Bruce Jean Myrthil in December 2022.
• Goodson Jeune took over from Myrthil in February 2023 and was succeeded by Paul Ménard Jean-Louis in August 2023, then Caleb Exantus in October 2024.
• Jean Frenel Beauvoir was named departmental police chief in July 2025, replacing Exantus, but lasted less than a month before being replaced by Ader on Saturday, Aug. 23.

Despite these successive leadership changes, gang violence in Artibonite continues to worsen. From his first day back in office, Ader faced a surge in bloodshed marked by the Gros-Morne killings.

Mayor Hubert Ceneac said residents are living in terror as gangs overrun the town. “They [residents] are exhausted and feel abandoned,” the mayor conceded. “We are exhausted by this phenomenon that prevents citizens from freely carrying out their daily activities. The police force is severely understaffed,” he told The Haitian Times.

“We hope that the highest authorities in the country will consider the situation of the civilian population of Gros-Morne and step in to protect us from ongoing bandit attacks,” Ceneac added. 

He lamented that for more than 35 months, the Ministry of the Interior has failed to provide any financial support to the commune.

As gangs sowed terror in the Artibonite, dozens of displaced residents from neighborhoods in the capital—such as Solino, Delmas 2, Delmas 6, Delmas 30 and Nazon—also marched Sunday, demanding safe passage back home. “Life in the camps is hell,” one protester said.

As insecurity spreads from Port-au-Prince to the provinces, security forces are under pressure to prove that gains like the Monday operation in Kenscoff can be replicated — or risk ceding more of Haiti’s vital infrastructure to armed groups.

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