Hundreds of demonstrators marched through the commune of Verrettes to protest the chronic insecurity and gang violence paralyzing the economic and social stability of the Artibonite department. Organized by the Engaged Citizens of Verrettes (CEV), a branch of the Artibonite Coordination of Popular Resistance, the crowd marched from Coupon to the local police headquarters. Carrying tree branches and structural banners, the protestors shouted slogans against the regional police command and demanded the immediate dissolution of the Kokorat San Ras gang and the Savien-based Gran Grif criminal cartel.
The coordinator of the civic organization, attorney Fernandès Paul, called for the immediate dismissal of the departmental director of the Haitian National Police and Saint-Marc Chief Commissioner Lyvenson Gauthier, citing institutional passivity and incompetence. Paul highlighted that local residents are completely isolated due to the closure of the Liancourt highway and the establishment of an illegal toll station managed by the Gran Grif gang in Niel. Additionally, the demonstration condemned the recent targeted killings of specialized law enforcement officers, including operations chief Pierre Emmanuel Germain and brigadier Claubens Petit, blaming departmental leadership for structural failures. The organizers vowed to expand their civil disobedience strategy to force the administration of Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé to deploy tactical reinforcements to the region.
