Haiti Police Say Boston Gang Leader Mathias Saintil Was Killed

Police confirm a gang leader’s death

November 7, 2026 · 1:00 a.m. Central / 2:00 a.m. Haiti

Haitian authorities say Mathias Saintil, the leader of the Boston gang in the Cité Soleil area of Port-au-Prince, has died after a security operation, according to Reuters and The Associated Press.

Haiti’s National Police said the leader known as Mathias was among those killed in a joint operation, AP reported. Reuters identified him by his full name and said authorities confirmed his death Friday.

Reports differ over how Saintil was wounded. The circumstances have not been independently established by Newstro.

Different accounts of the operation

Reuters said a report it reviewed from the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights described Saintil as seriously wounded in a drone strike Thursday night and dying the following day while receiving treatment.

Al Jazeera reported that police described an exchange of gunfire. Those accounts do not establish a single agreed cause of his injuries; the available reporting does not clarify how they relate.

Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé said on X that a gang leader had been killed, Reuters and AP reported. AP said he did not name the person in that post; police and Reuters identified the leader separately.

A broader security crisis

The operation took place amid a sustained campaign against armed groups in Haiti. Reuters reported that Salvadoran troops have deployed during the wider response, while AP described continuing operations by Haitian police and foreign forces.

Saintil’s reported death does not by itself establish that the surrounding area is safe or that the group has stopped operating. Reuters reported the group’s base in Boston, a neighborhood in Cité Soleil; details about any succession or the security situation for residents were not established in the sources reviewed.

Where Cité Soleil is located

The star marks the approximate area of Cité Soleil, Haiti; it does not identify a specific incident site.

Local reporting on X

Haitian news outlet Gazette Haiti reported the police confirmation on X. Its post summarizes the police account and is not independent evidence of the circumstances of the death.

Read Gazette Haiti’s post

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Sources and visual credits

Reuters via MarketScreener · Associated Press · Al Jazeera · Gazette Haiti on X.

Hero and thumbnail: conceptual illustration, not an image of the operation or the specific neighborhood. Map data: OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.