On September 20, 2025, at around 7 a.m., dozens of children ran through the Simon Pelé neighborhood in northern Port-au-Prince. They played among the colorful alleyways — controlled for years by the gang of the same name — waiting for Albert Steevenson, alias Djouma, to hand out toys as part of his birthday celebration. But quadcopter drones from an official operation, armed with explosives, were also flying through the alleyways with a clear objective: to kill the elusive Haitian gang leader. The operation resulted in the deaths of at least 10 people, eight of them minors. A young juice vendor, a three-year-old girl, and an artisan working outdoors, among others, became the “collateral damage” of these operations, which were as unpopular as they were ineffective. Neither Djouma nor any other gang leader was killed or arrested during the operation.

Full commentary : Kamikaze drones in Haiti: 1,243 dead in Prime Minister Fils-Aimé’s failed plan against criminal gangs.