Khthon documents mass graves, atrocity crimes, and forensic evidence from conflict zones worldwide. Our work is strictly humanitarian and apolitical.
This site may contain imagery and descriptions of deceased individuals, violent injuries, and human remains gathered in the course of active investigations. Content is presented for accountability and documentation purposes only.
Khthon documents mass graves, atrocity crimes, and forensic evidence from conflict zones worldwide. Our work is strictly humanitarian and apolitical.
This site may contain imagery and descriptions of deceased individuals, violent injuries, and human remains gathered in the course of active investigations.
Country / Region Overview
Haiti is a Caribbean nation shaped by a long history of political instability, foreign intervention, and structural poverty — all of which have contributed to recurring cycles of violence and mass death.
Since the fall of the Duvalier dictatorship in 1986, the country has struggled to build stable governance, with power frequently contested between weak state institutions, political factions, and increasingly powerful armed groups. Following the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, gang coalitions expanded their control over large areas of Port-au-Prince and beyond. These groups engage in kidnappings, massacres, and territorial battles that often target civilian populations, while the state's limited capacity has constrained both law enforcement and forensic response.
"Mapping is not only about locating graves but reconstructing patterns of disappearance and concealment in real time — documenting violence that is both highly visible in its immediacy and rapidly obscured in its aftermath."
— Khthon Field Assessment
The result is a fragmented and largely undocumented landscape of mass death and burial. Mass graves in Haiti are often improvised and concealed within dense urban neighborhoods, informal settlements, or peripheral rural zones. Victims of gang violence are buried in shallow pits, abandoned lots, or hastily covered sites. Periods of acute crisis — including massacres in La Saline (2018) and Cité Soleil (2022) — generated credible reports of bodies being removed and buried collectively to obscure the scale of killings. Natural disasters, including the 2010 earthquake, produced their own forms of mass burial, where overwhelmed authorities interred large numbers of unidentified victims in unmarked sites.
For Khthon, Haiti presents a convergence of challenges intensified by institutional fragility. Satellite-based detection is limited by urban density and the rapid turnover of terrain, where sites are quickly built over or erased. Our methodology depends heavily on SOCMINT and HUMINT: local testimony, journalist investigations, NGO reporting, and geolocated visual evidence surfacing through social media during and after violent events. Verification is further complicated by insecurity on the ground, which restricts forensic access.
1957–1986
Duvalier dictatorship
François "Papa Doc" Duvalier and his son Jean-Claude rule Haiti for nearly three decades. The Tonton Macoutes paramilitary force carries out disappearances, torture, and killings of political opponents. Many victims are buried in unmarked sites or disposed of secretly.
1991–1994
Military coup and FRAPH atrocities
Following a coup against President Aristide, the paramilitary FRAPH group conducts massacres and political killings. The Raboteau massacre (1994) in Gonaïves — where security forces killed civilians and disposed of bodies in the sea — becomes a landmark case in Haitian accountability efforts.
2010
Earthquake — mass burials
A 7.0 magnitude earthquake kills between 100,000 and 300,000 people in January 2010. Overwhelmed authorities conduct mass burials in sites such as Titanyen, north of Port-au-Prince, where an estimated 100,000–200,000 victims were interred without identification or documentation.
2018
La Saline massacre
Armed groups allied with political figures carry out a massacre in the La Saline neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince, killing at least 71 people. Bodies are reported to have been burned, concealed, and buried to obscure evidence. A UN report later documents the killings and political connections.
2021
Assassination of President Moïse
President Jovenel Moïse is assassinated at his private residence on July 7, 2021. The killing triggers a rapid collapse of state authority. Gang coalitions — particularly the G9 alliance — expand their territorial control across Port-au-Prince and major transport routes.
2022
Cité Soleil massacre
Inter-gang fighting in Cité Soleil kills hundreds of civilians over several days in July 2022. The UN reports at least 89 confirmed deaths, with many more bodies concealed or unrecovered. Residents describe bodies buried in yards, lots, and makeshift pits throughout the neighbourhood.
2023–2024
Gang seizure of Port-au-Prince
The Viv Ansanm gang coalition seizes control of over 80% of Port-au-Prince, including critical infrastructure and government buildings. Massacres continue in Lizon, Cabaret, and Artibonite. Over 700,000 people are displaced. International access for forensic teams is effectively severed.
Ongoing
Khthon monitoring — real-time SOCMINT documentation
In the absence of ground access, Khthon monitors Haiti through real-time SOCMINT — tracking geolocated video, survivor testimony, and NGO reporting. Satellite imagery is used to detect terrain changes and infrastructure activity consistent with clandestine burial. The fragmented nature of the crisis requires constant cross-referencing of rapidly evolving sources.
Browse Khthon's full catalogue of country and case reports across seven global regions, or get involved with our ongoing investigations.
