Haitian police replace Kenscoff commander after resident criticism
A U.S. charter flight carrying 51 men and six women landed at Cap-Haïtien International Airport on Thursday, the second such arrival from the United States in eight days, Haitian newspaper Le Nouvelliste reported. A prior charter that landed in Cap-Haïtien on Aug. 20 carried 161 people, bringing the total number deported from the United States to Haiti during the period to 218.
Kerlande Desauguste, an official with Haiti’s National Migration Office, said deportees on Thursday’s flight had varying immigration backgrounds. Some were former Temporary Protected Status program participants, while others had received humanitarian parole or had pending asylum or immigration proceedings, Desauguste said. Haitian outlet Rezo Nòdwès reported that families on the flight included children born in the United States and Brazil, including a 1-year-old born in the United States.
The increase in deportations follows the termination of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians in the United States. Haitian authorities said the deportation flights could become more frequent even as legal challenges to the termination continue.
The latest flight arrived days after members of the Viv Ansanm gang coalition attacked Kenscoff, in the mountains above Port-au-Prince. At least 47 people were killed and more than 50 abducted in the attack. At least five children were among those killed. According to the United Nations, 22 victims were executed inside a religious compound where they had sought shelter.
Haitian police have not announced the release of any hostages or arrests directly connected to the attack. Asked at a news conference Thursday what police planned to do about the kidnapped residents, police spokesman Garry Desrosiers said operational details could not be discussed publicly.
The Haitian National Police on Thursday replaced the head of its Kenscoff jurisdiction after criticism from residents. Chief Commissioner Jean-Pierre Ketler Mauriceau replaced Inspector Nikenson Cadet and was tasked with reinforcing police positions and improving the force’s operational capacity. Police also announced Thursday they had opened investigations into the attack and whether complicity or negligence within the security forces allowed armed men to enter central Kenscoff.
The violence displaced 2,647 people from 702 households, the International Organization for Migration said in a report released Wednesday. Seventy-seven percent took shelter with host families in neighboring Pétion-Ville, while the remainder moved into three displacement sites.
At least 3,050 people were killed and 1,401 injured by violence across Haiti during the first six months of 2026, according to the United Nations.