SUMMARY

La Coalition emerged in the Artibonite region of Haiti as a self-defense group formed in response to criminal violence perpetrated by the Gran Grif and Kokorat San Ras gangs. Over time, however, it adopted the same practices done by the actors it claimed to oppose, including extortion and the deliberate targeting of civilians.

La Coalition justified its attacks on civilians on the grounds that the victims were sympathetic to or supportive of the Gran Grif gang. On 20 May 2025, at least 55 people were killed and ten others injured in an attack in the locality of Préval in the commune of Petite Rivière de l'Artibonite. The victims, primarily farmers, were killed with machetes while attending a religious ceremony or at home, after which their bodies were dragged into the street and burned. Several houses were set on fire and the belongings of victims, including stored rice and motorcycles, were looted. Some victims were decapitated.

La Coalition first became active as a one-sided actor in UCDP data in 2025, when the one-sided violence resulted in 55 civilian deaths. The threshold was reached in May when the group attacked civilians over their alleged support of Gran Grif in Haiti.