Wanted gang leader arrested in Haiti – UN

Haitian National Police officers this weekend apprehended a gang leader who had been on the run since late February when law enforcement officials and United Nations peacekeepers seized control of his headquarters in Cité Soleil, the notorious slum area in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

The arrest of Belony Pierre, who led a gang in the Bois-Neuf area of Cité Soleil, “marks another significant step forward in the fight against Haiti’s armed gangs,” the Secretary-General’s spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters today in New York.

Haitian police arrested the suspect in St. Michel de l’Attalaye, 100 kilometres north of Port-au-Prince, and he was transferred immediately to the capital where he faces charges of murder and kidnapping.

The UN mission, known as MINUSTAH, assisted in his transfer and subsequent detention at police headquarters in Port-au-Prince by providing additional security.

In recent months, MINUSTAH has stepped up efforts to crack down on criminal gangs in violence-ridden Haiti; since the start of the year, more than 400 gang members have been arrested.