During the clashes between the gangs led by Chen Mechan, Jeff Canaan, Wilson Joseph alias Lanmò San Jou, and those from Pierre 6 and Terre Noire, in several parts of the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac north of Port-au-Prince, a one-minute-and-sixteen-second video circulated widely on social media in mid-May. In the footage, Lanmò San Jou, fully embracing the staging of a gang leader, cigar in hand and appearing relaxed, hums while filming around thirty rifles stored inside a bedroom. Several sources indicate that these are M4 rifles (or M4 carbines), an American 5.56×45 mm NATO assault weapon derived from the M16 but shorter, lighter, and easier to handle. While speculation abounds regarding Lanmò San Jou’s objective, it is nevertheless certain that this is one of the rare times, if not the very first, that a gang leader has displayed so many weapons of the same caliber — enough to arm a tactical SWAT unit of 12 to 30 members.

An embarrassing and revealing video