Gang Suppression Force Commander Godfrey Otunge speaking on November 18, 2025. /GSFHaiti’s newly constituted Gang Suppression Force (GSF) has issued its strongest warning yet to the country’s armed criminal networks, declaring that the era of gang dominance is “simply over”.
In a hard-hitting statement signed by Force Commander Godfrey Otunge, the unified security forces said they have intensified intelligence-led coordinated operations across the country to flush out gangs from their areas of operation.
The GSF said the transition from the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSSM) to the new force marked far more than a name change, describing it as “a complete reorganisation of Haiti's security machinery” designed to dismantle the groups that have long terrorised communities.
According to the force, the restructuring has pooled personnel, intelligence and operational capabilities across all national security organs under a single mission.
Working jointly with the Haitian National Police (PNH) and the Armed Forces of Haiti (FAd'H), the GSF said it is now executing targeted, intelligence-led raids along with “persistent dominance patrols” in key hotspots.
“These operations are designed not only to send an unmistakable message but to demonstrate, through concrete action, that the era of unchecked gang power is over,” the statement said.
The force said all operational assets on land, at sea and in the air have been mobilised, with the objective of restoring peace and ensuring that every Haitian can “live without fear, with full access to their basic human rights.”
It added that joint operations would continue “relentlessly until every criminal group is dismantled and neutralised.”
In an unusually direct message to gang leaders, the GSF dismissed recent threats issued by armed groups as “signs of desperation, not strength,” insisting that the criminal networks are already losing ground, influence and the capacity to intimidate civilians.
“The bluff is over,” the statement read.
“Their collapse has already begun.”
The GSF said its combined units are taking territory, disrupting networks, seizing weapons and “neutralising resisting armed elements” while denying gangs any haven.
It vowed to strike at the core of their command structures and uproot their influence in all areas they once claimed.
“This is not rhetoric,” the force added. “It is what is happening on the ground today and now.”
Reaffirming its stance that “the law is the only authority in this country,” the GSF warned that anyone who harms civilians or challenges the state would face “a swift, firm, and lawful response.”
Addressing the public directly, Otunge urged Haitians to remain calm, stay vigilant and support security operations as authorities push to close “one of the darkest chapters in Haiti’s national history.”
He said order, stability and peace would be restored “without compromise.”
In a final note, the GSF congratulated the Haitian National Football League team for its recent achievements, saying the performance showed the country’s potential “with stability in the country.”
