Overview:
A brand new UN human rights report hyperlinks Miragoâne prosecutor Jean Ernest Muscadin to at the very least 28 abstract executions. However as Haiti’s safety disaster deepens, his tough-on-gangs strategy has made him a hero to many at residence and throughout the diaspora.
Editor’s be aware: Fritznel D. Octave, Haiti editor for The Haitian Occasions, contributed to this reporting.
A brand new United Nations report accusing Miragoâne Public Prosecutor Jean Ernest Muscadin of finishing up extrajudicial executions has reignited a nationwide debate over justice and survival in Haiti. The allegations come as Muscadin’s reputation surges, fueling public requires him to hunt greater workplace—whilst questions on his strategies intensify.
In accordance with the report produced by the UN Built-in Workplace in Haiti (BINUH) and printed final week, at the very least 28 abstract executions documented throughout the final two quarters have been attributed on to Muscadin. The discovering provides to years of complaints from human rights organizations, notably the Nationwide Human Rights Protection Community (RNDDH), which has lengthy accused him of main a “parallel justice system” within the Nippes area.
“Throughout the quarter [July-September 2025], one case involving the Public Prosecutor of Miragoâne, Jean Ernest Muscadin, was documented,” the UN report acknowledged.
“The incident occurred on July 23 within the commune of Miragoâne (Nippes Division), when an armed man was shot lifeless by him. Within the earlier quarter, this prosecutor executed 27 individuals, with full impunity.”
But as worldwide stress grows, so too does Muscadin’s stature amongst peculiar Haitians who see him not as a rogue official, however as the one state actor who has — of their view — delivered tangible safety.
In a rustic the place gangs management greater than 90% of the capital and are increasing their grip on a number of provincial cities — hundreds of prisoners have escaped throughout repeated jail breakouts, and the justice system is sort of paralyzed — many residents say the UN’s issues miss the truth they stay in.
A prosecutor with blood on his arms or the one one stopping gang growth?
Regardless of allegations of illegal killings, Muscadin’s supporters describe him as the one determine who has saved southern Haiti impenetrable to gangs at a time when state establishments have collapsed.
Residents of the Nippes Division, significantly Miragoâne—lower than 80 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, consult with him as “Komisè pèp la” — “the individuals’s prosecutor.”
Many credit score him with stopping feared coalitions like Viv Ansanm and G9 gangs from coming into the area, whilst gangs have overrun the capital, components of Artibonite and the Centre division.
“He’s our safety,” protesters chanted on Nov. 17 as hundreds marched by means of Miragoâne, shutting down colleges and companies to denounce the UN report and demand that Muscadin stay in workplace. They vowed to proceed their protest till Thursday.
An enormous crowd of individuals danced within the streets amid a carnival-like ambiance. “Si w manyen Muscadin, wap boule” — “For those who contact Muscadin, you’ll get burned,” many sang collectively over the loud music.
All through their march, protesters—largely younger individuals of their 20s and 30s— additionally threw slogans difficult gangs to step onto the Nippes Division’s land.
Comparable protests have occurred repeatedly at any time when accusations of abuse floor in opposition to Muscadin.
The diaspora, particularly in South Florida, New York, Montreal and Paris, has amplified the motion, praising him consistently on social media for “doing what the federal government has did not do.”
Judicial vacuum fuels help for hardline figures
Muscadin’s rise underscores a deeper disaster: Haiti’s justice system, weakened by political instability, continual underfunding and assaults on courthouses, is barely functioning.
- Haiti’s jails function at over 300% capability.
- Greater than 80% of detainees are held indefinitely with out trial.
- Court docket buildings in Port-au-Prince, Croix-des-Bouquets and Mirebalais have been destroyed or deserted.
- Prosecutors and judges incessantly flee the nation beneath menace of reprisal.
In opposition to this backdrop, Muscadin’s insistence that “bandits will both die or depart Nippes” resonates with a public that feels deserted.
“When justice collapses, individuals flip to whoever can shield them,” mentioned a authorized professional in Port-au-Prince who requested anonymity for his security.
The UN and RNDDH warn of harmful precedents— however for a political future, supporters say sure
Requires Muscadin to run for president are rising louder from the south to the north. Movies praising him flow into broadly on-line, and diaspora teams have begun fundraising for his operations.
He has acknowledged that “95%” of his safety assets are provided by the diaspora together with native companies.
“Muscadin is the one authority we belief,” a demonstrator mentioned Monday. “If the federal government touches him, Nippes will shut down.”
A posh determine in a collapsing state
Born and raised in Les Cayes—the primary metropolis of Haiti’s Southern Division— within the late Seventies, and a graduate of the city’s public legislation and economics college (EDSEC), Muscadin has over twenty years of expertise—each as a lawyer and a prosecutor. Although a controversial determine, he was appointed Miragoâne prosecutor by the late President Jovenel Moïse in 2019. He presents his actions as obligatory in a rustic overwhelmed by prison teams.
His appointment adopted a lethal assault try in opposition to Haitian Cardinal Chibly Langlois within the Nippes area, Muscadin mentioned on Pi Lwen Ke Zye, a chat present hosted by Haitian journalist Junior “Rigolo” Dorcin on social media. On the time, he added, Miragoâne’s close by city, Chalon, was affected by insecurity.
“President Jovenel Moïse referred to as me, gave me weapons and monetary assets, and declared that the bandits, the criminals, needed to both die or depart the world,” Muscadin confided.
“All people killed in Nippes are murderers, terrorists,” he typically says in response to his critics.
Nevertheless, Dary Noel, Muscadin’s spokesperson, advised The Haitian Occasions that the general public prosecutor has declined to touch upon the present BINUH report at the moment. “He prefers to let the individuals of Miragoâne communicate for him,” Noel mentioned briefly.
Whether or not considered as a protector or a violator of rights, Muscadin stands on the middle of Haiti’s battle to reconcile safety and legality. His rise exposes a defining reality: within the absence of functioning courts, prisons and police methods, many Haitians are selecting order — even lethal order — over the rule of legislation.
As Haiti braces for additional instability, many Haitians argue that the query is now not solely whether or not Muscadin crossed authorized traces, however what his reputation reveals about the way forward for justice in a collapsing state.