SUMMARY

Gran Grif, also known as Baz Gran Grif or Gran Grif de Savien, was a notorious gang that operated primarily in Haiti’s Artibonite department. Established around 2016, the group was implicated in numerous violent acts, including massacres, kidnappings, and attacks on state institutions leading to mass displacement and a general state of insecurity.

Gran Grif did not adhere to a formal political or religious ideology. Its operations were driven by the pursuit of territorial control and economic gain through extortion. The gang was known for setting up unauthorized tolls on roads and violently punishing communities that resisted its authority. The gang’s stronghold was in Savien, located in the Artibonite department of Haiti. Its influence extended into nearby areas like Pont-Sondé and Petite-Rivière de l’Artibonite.

Though precise figures of membership remained unclear, it is known that Gran Grif operated with a hierarchical structure and centralized leadership under Luckson Elan. It was considered one of the largest and most powerful gangs in Artibonite maintaining territorial control through extortion, rule enforcement, and violent reprisals.

The gang was heavily armed, using automatic rifles, machetes, and other weapons. It demonstrated the capacity to execute large-scale, coordinated attacks, such as the Pont-Sondé massacre in 2024 (one of the deadliest gang attacks in recent Haitian history). It would also often clash with the Haitian National Police.

Gran Grif has been involved in the one-sided category of UCDP organized violence.