December 5, 2025
Armed men identified as members of the Gran Grif gang from Savien attacked the Liancourt police station (Petite-Rivière de l’Artibonite) on the morning of Monday, September 15, 2025, seized control after several hours of clashes with law enforcement, and then destroyed it. Videos posted on social media confirm the demolition of the buildings, although no independent official source has yet provided credible figures on fatalities or injuries.
The action comes amid recently heightened tensions in Artibonite, notably following the appointment of André Jonas Vladimir Paraison as acting Director General of the Haitian National Police in early August 2025, and the naming of Jacques Ader as head of the Departmental Police Directorate in the region. These appointments were intended to renew security leadership but appear to have triggered a direct response from the gang, operating under the direction of Luckson Élan, known as “General Luckson.”
The Gran Grif gang—already responsible for multiple massacres, attacks, and acts of terror against civilians and police—is stepping up its operations by exploiting the structural instability of the security apparatus. The Liancourt police station, a local symbol of the State’s presence, has thus become a strategic target to assert the gang’s grip, raising concerns about the ability of police and judicial institutions to respond to the rise of these armed groups.
