Gangs and Money: UN Experts Name Rosemila Petit Frère, Alfrédo Antoine and Nenel Cassy

Gang leaders make the headlines. Their backers remain in the shadows. The report submitted to the Security Council changes that. It describes a system in which public funds, police leaks and political ambition fuel the violence.

Three figures stand out: Rosemila Petit Frère, Alfrédo Junior Antoine and Nenel Cassy. All three have held elected office. According to the experts, all three maintained ties with the Viv Ansanm coalition or its members. All three either dispute the findings or did not respond.

Rosemila Petit Frère: the Arcahaie mole

Rosemila Petit Frère served as mayor of Arcahaie from 2016 to 2020 and became a prosperous and influential businesswoman under the government of Ariel Henry. The experts describe her as a long-standing ally of Viv Ansanm’s leaders. She allegedly provided them with financial and logistical support and acted as a bridge between the gangs and political, business and security circles. Two Member States corroborated this information.

Leaks ahead of police raids. Viv Ansanm emerged in September 2023. In the five months leading up to its formation, she reportedly made frequent calls to Jean Gardy, alias “Pece Pim Pim,” and Renel Destina, alias “Ti Lapli,” leader of the Grand Ravine gang. According to the report, on three occasions she passed confidential information about imminent Haitian National Police operations to Ti Lapli.

Stolen investigation files. Through corrupt police officers, she allegedly obtained investigative files concerning two individuals: Prophane Victor, who is under UN sanctions, and Magalie Habitant, a key intermediary between the gangs and their financiers. She reportedly handed the files to them so they could prepare their defense. The same connections allegedly earned her contracts to supply police uniforms, awarded without competitive bidding or oversight, the report adds.

Diverted social funds. She allegedly influenced the 2021 appointment of a director general of the Social Assistance Fund (Caisse d’assistance sociale). That official was later implicated in embezzlement, and the investigation identifies Ms. Petit Frère as the main beneficiary. Part of the money allegedly ended up with Jean Gardy, leader of the Krache Dife gang, active in Bel-Air and Delmas. The rest was reportedly laundered through three of her companies: Centre Commercial, Groupe Radio Mono 96.3 FM and Excel Travel.

Arrested in August 2025 while transiting through the Dominican Republic from Canada, then detained in Haiti by the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police (DCPJ), Ms. Petit Frère was ultimately released by the Haitian courts on health grounds, according to our sources. She has contested the Panel’s findings; the experts stand by their conclusions.

Alfrédo Junior Antoine: the shadow over Kenscoff

On January 27, 2025, Kenscoff endured a nightmare: more than 100 people killed, rapes, including of minors, and homes set ablaze. Alfrédo Junior Antoine represented the constituency as a deputy from 2016 to 2020. The experts list him among the principal instigators of the attack. Since then, gangs have controlled large swaths of the commune.

The report describes a long-standing strategy. Since at least 2016, he allegedly armed groups of young men to serve his political agenda. These groups later became gangs or joined existing ones. He is also accused of kidnappings and unlawful confinement to intimidate opponents or seize property.

According to the experts, he was in frequent contact with Frantz Valmyr, alias “Didy,” one of Kenscoff’s main gang leaders. He was in regular contact with Magalie Habitant and close to Vitelhomme Innocent, who is under UN sanctions. He is identified as a supplier of weapons, ammunition and funds to Viv Ansanm through an intermediary. Illegally held weapons were found at his home.

His legal record is extensive. He was imprisoned for fraud from 2005 to 2008, then arrested in 2015 for misappropriation of property and forgery. On April 4, 2025, he was arrested for conspiracy against state security and financing criminal organizations. He was released on May 9, after five weeks. Contacted by the experts, he denied by email any link to the gangs.

Nenel Cassy: the senator and his gunmen

Nenel Cassy twice served as senator for the Nippes department, from 2006 to 2012 and again from 2016 to 2020. According to the report, he allegedly controls the “BLTS” criminal group, active in Chalon, in the commune of Miragoâne. The group has no connection to the police anti-narcotics unit that shares the same acronym. The experts say it is involved in murders, kidnappings for ransom, gang rapes, truck hijackings and armed robberies.

He also allegedly helped create Fantome 509 in 2018, an armed group whose ranks include police officers and which has been involved in arson and the killing of police officers. The report further accuses him, together with accomplices, of an attempted kidnapping followed by the murder of a Haitian diplomat in February 2021.

The experts assert that he was planning attacks on the airports of Port-au-Prince, Les Cayes and Cap-Haïtien. He allegedly organized meetings that led to attacks on Kenscoff, in collusion with Viv Ansanm. Two Member States link him to weapons distributions in Gressier in 2018, as well as to the Ti-Makak gang, the G-Pèp coalition and Vitelhomme Innocent’s Kraze Baryè gang.

Public money is also at stake. As senator, he allegedly imposed the appointment of the two heads of the Office for the Monetization of Development Aid Programs (Bureau de monétisation des programmes d’aide au développement), including Patrick Noramé. Mr. Noramé reportedly embezzled and laundered substantial sums, part of which was funneled back to Mr. Cassy.

He was sanctioned by Canada in March 2023 and by the United States in December 2023. The Dominican Republic barred him from entry in April 2023. He did not respond to the Panel’s letter.

Arrested, then released

The common thread running through these cases can be summed up in one word: impunity. Rosemila Petit Frère, Alfrédo Junior Antoine and Nenel Cassy were all arrested by the DCPJ. All three were nonetheless released by the Haitian justice system. Nenel Cassy, arrested on August 2, 2025, for conspiracy against state security and financing criminal groups, walked free seventeen days later. Alfrédo Junior Antoine was out after five weeks.

Mr. Cassy’s release sparked outrage among civil society. The authorities insist the case is under review. However, sources close to the investigation told the experts it has been closed without further action.

Meanwhile, Kenscoff remains partly under gang control. The report shows that the war ravaging Haiti is not fought only in the alleys of Grand Ravine or Bel-Air. It is also decided in offices, town halls and the corridors of Parliament.

The facts reported here are findings of the UN Panel of Experts on Haiti (report S/2026/714) and do not constitute judicial convictions. The individuals named are presumed innocent.

The Editorial Team