December 5, 2025
The National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH) is urging Haitian authorities to provide immediate support to the families of the victims of the Simon Pelé tragedy, where sixteen people, including eight children, were killed on September 20, 2025. According to the organization, this kamikaze drone attack highlights a serious deviation in the use of such weapons, which were intended to combat gangs but are now being turned against innocent civilians.
In its report, the RNDDH acknowledges that “the use of kamikaze drones may be justified by the inaccessibility of certain gang strongholds,” but denounces the operations as having become uncontrollable since August 2025. “From that date onward, those piloting the drones appear to have targeted members of the civilian population,” the document states, noting that eleven and sixteen civilians were killed in the strikes of September 6 and 20, including several children aged three to twelve.
The organization points out that, despite more than two hundred gang members being killed since March 2025, “no notorious gang leader has been hit,” raising questions about the precision of these operations and the competence of the teams in charge. For the RNDDH, “the fight against banditry cannot justify the killing of children,” reminding that Haiti remains bound by the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, which guarantees every minor’s right to life and protection.
The report calls for “drone operations to no longer be entrusted to political authorities,” but rather to a coordination unit bringing together all law enforcement agencies, supervised under military standards and international humanitarian law. The RNDDH believes that such a mechanism would have “prevented the numerous collateral victims” already recorded and helped restore public trust in institutions.
Finally, the organization condemns the silence of the Transitional Presidential Council, the Prime Minister’s Office, and the Superior Council of the National Police following the September 20 massacre. It demands “unconditional protection of civilians during drone operations,” the reallocation of intelligence funds to law enforcement, and concrete support for the victims’ families, stressing that “the State cannot delegate its moral responsibility to gang leaders.”
