A police officer stands guard in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March 3, 2026
DRONES operated by Haitian security forces and private contractors have killed at least 1,243 people and injured 738 others, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said today.
Of those killed in the anti-gang attacks, 17 were children and 43 were adults not believed to be members of any criminal group. Of those injured, at least 49 were believed to be civilians, according to the rights group.
The killings took place between March 1 2025 and January 21 2026.
The most lethal drone operation killed 57 people, the report noted.
Americas director at HRW Juanita Goebertus Estrada said: “Haitian authorities should urgently rein in the security forces and private contractors working for them before more children die.”
A spokesperson for Haiti’s National Police did not immediately respond for comment.
HRW said the number of armed drone attacks in Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince has “significantly increased” in recent months, with 57 reported between November and late January, almost double the 29 attacks reported from August through October last year.
One of the attacks highlighted in the report occurred September 20, 2025, in the Simon Pele neighbourhood, when nine people were killed, including three children. At least eight others were injured.
On January 1 of this year, an unidentified woman was quoted as saying that she saw a drone fall and explode onto a truck that was transporting her cousin, killing her.
HRW said: “Many of these attacks appear to be attempts to target and kill people in circumstances that amount to unlawful, extrajudicial killings.
“Authorities should also ensure transparency around and accountability for any unlawful death resulting from a security operation, and conduct prompt, thorough, and independent investigations to disclose, to the greatest extent possible, the number and identity of victims, and provide adequate reparation where violations have occurred.”
Last year, Haiti’s government created a new task force that operates outside Haiti’s National Police control and employed the use of explosive drones.
