By: Jérôme Wendy Norestyl, Ayibopost, Oct. 11, 2026
In Carrefour, bandits are evicting residents who cannot pay an illegal tax imposed on their homes, three residents told AyiboPost.
Implemented since last August through the census of dwellings and the holding of planning meetings, this extortion operation aims to collect several thousand gourdes from each residence and business in the commune.
The implementation was set for October 1st.
Several residents from different neighborhoods of Carrefour are now warning of brutal interventions by gangs aimed at enforcing this illegal tax.
Some are under intense pressure to pay, while others are simply evicted from their homes due to lack of resources.
On the morning of October 7, this man learned by telephone, from a member of his family, that the bandits had just evicted one of his relatives while she was preparing her lunch.
"On the phone, I heard them tell the person who was in the house to sit outside so they could close the door," the man reported, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals from the gangs.
After discussion, the bandits postponed payment until the next day, under threat of permanently seizing the building if the money was not paid.
The man also learns that the bandits have attacked people in his neighborhood and have closed several houses.
According to this father of five, the gangs' rampage to recover the money demanded from the properties began at the start of the week.
At the start of the day on October 7, the bandits arrived at the home rented by one of the relatives of this second resident of Carrefour.
"I wasn't there. When the bandits arrived, they asked us where the money was. Then they said they were going to lock up the house," the man explained.
Upon returning to the scene, the man noticed that some people present were crying. He learned that the criminals had also beaten some of them, in addition to the threats they had made.
He claims he was forced to negotiate the amount, then pay in order to avoid immediate eviction.
This man, who says he feels like he's living in prison, explains: "It's not the house we're paying for, we're paying for our lives."
Although he was able to find the money, he noticed that houses in the neighborhood were locked, including that of a religious leader whose door had been padlocked by bandits.
At Mon Repos, he knows a family man who was driven from his home by bandits because he could not pay.
In the town, no one has escaped gang extortion since 2024.
Businesses, traders, public markets, taxi drivers, Madan Sara: all pay money to members of the gang led by kingpin Christ-Roy “Krisla” Chery.
He faces several charges, including crimes and kidnappings, and is actively being sought by the National Police.
Residents told AyiboPost that houses are branded by gangs according to their status.
Houses marked with a cross are uninhabited or deserted and therefore under the control of gangs, who can rent them to other occupants.
While those whose occupants have not finished paying their contribution are marked with a question mark, an "OK" is written on the dwellings whose payment has been validated.
Posted Oct. 26, 2026