A senior US House Republican has described harrowing accounts of gang violence in Haiti after visiting Port-au-Prince, a city that has descended into chaos since the assassination of its president in July 2021. Lawmakers reported seeing bullet-riddled walls and heavily armoured police, while hearing testimony of extreme brutality, including a case in which a victim was allegedly fed his own severed ears. The visit underscores the scale of the security collapse in Haiti, where armed gangs now control large parts of the capital and routinely target civilians.

Among the details shared was an account of an American six-year-old girl being kidnapped by a Haitian gang, highlighting the risks faced even by foreign nationals in the country. Lawmakers described gangs blockading streets with rubble and digging trenches to trap residents and hamper security forces. The revelations come as related coverage notes US immigration authorities are reportedly preparing to increase arrests of Haitian migrants, with implications for those holding temporary protected status.