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Anti-gang protests erupted on the streets of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Wednesday after two nuns were murdered in a gang killing on March 31.
Sr. Evanette Onezaire and Sr. Jeanne Voltaire, who were both members of the Little Sisters of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, were killed in the central Haiti town of Mirebalais, Vatican News reported.
They were working at a school in the area at the time of their deaths.
The two were killed when the “Viv Ansanm” – a coalition of Haitian gangs – launched an attack on Mirebalais. Gang members attacked the house where they had been seeking refuge, said Vatican News, and killed all occupants.
Archbishop Max Leroy Mésidor of Port-au-Prince told Haitian media that the murder of the sisters is “a huge loss for the community.”
During the attack on Mirebalais, gang members targeted shops, police stations, a hospital, and a prison, said Fides, a publication for the Pontifical Mission Societies. An estimated 500 inmates escaped.
Thousands of Haitians took to the streets in the country’s capital on Wednesday, demanding that the country’s government do something about the rising levels of gang violence.
The situation in Haiti is dire.
In March 2025, William O’Neill, the United Nations’ human rights commissioner’s expert on Haiti, described Port-au-Prince as an “open-air prison,” said the Associated Press.
“There is no safe way to enter or leave the capital except by helicopter,” said O’Neill. “Gangs are invading previously safe neighborhoods, killing, raping and burning houses, businesses, churches and schools.”
Among those protesting on Wednesday were those who had been forced to leave their homes due to gang violence, said Fides.
“Haitian police used tear gas to disperse the crowd gathered in front of the 'Ville d'Accueil,' the headquarters of the Presidential Transitional Council (CPT) and the government,” said Fides.
In 2024, more than 5,600 people in Haiti were killed due to gang violence, said the United Nations. An additional 2,000 people were injured, and at least 1,500 were kidnapped.
