The Lower Artibonite is back in the news. For the same reasons: yet another massacre that law enforcement was unable to prevent. This time, it is attributed to gang leader Luckson Elan and his men from Gran Grif. They left Savien and took advantage of the night of March 28 to 29 to unleash hellfire on civilians in Jean-Denis and other localities of Petite-Rivière-de-l’Artibonite.

Like others—at least eight in 2025—this massacre has a sense of déjà vu. At the heart of the lakou, bodies riddled with bullets were found. Women and men lying in their blood in the dust near burned-down houses. Each time, the killers claim their acts, display their power, and taunt “the opponent”: Ti Mépris, leader of the “Coalition,” an individual who also has massacres to his name, in the name of self-defense. The mimicry is terrifying. The rivalry fuels further tragedies.