Bodies recovered after being thrown into river; community leader warns deportations are “condemning people to death” amid Haiti’s gang crisis
Port-au-Prince / Santo Domingo – February 6, 2026 In a horrific discovery near the southern Haiti-Dominican Republic border in the Elías Piña area, the decapitated bodies of four Haitian women were recovered from a river after being thrown into the water in Haiti. Authorities confirmed the women were killed in Haiti, and their bodies were carried across the border by the current.
The victims, Haitian nationals aged 27 to 31, had arrived in Puerto Rico by boat in December 2024 and lived in San Juan neighborhoods including Barrio Obrero and Puerto Nuevo. They were deported several months ago — one approximately two months prior, the others around three months and 15 days before their deaths — following immigration enforcement actions.
Leonard Prophil, a Haitian community leader and Creole interpreter in Puerto Rico who knew some of the women and was contacted by their families, confirmed they had been missing for about two weeks before the bodies were found. He directly linked the killings to gang activity in Haiti, where deported individuals — especially women — are frequently kidnapped and targeted for ransom demands from relatives presumed to have resources abroad (often in the U.S. or Puerto Rico).
“Deporting these people means condemning them to death,” Prophil stated, calling for alternatives to deportation given Haiti’s severe gang violence and humanitarian crisis.
Dominican authorities arrested a Haitian man named Chin Laduse in connection with the case. Prophil has previously reported that at least 18 Haitian deportees from the U.S. have been murdered upon return, with nine linked to deportations from Puerto Rico.
The victims’ families have withheld names and photographs out of fear of further gang retaliation. Many Haitians undertake perilous sea journeys (“yolas”) to reach Puerto Rico, only to face detention, raids, and removal — heightening dangers upon return to an unstable homeland.
This tragedy highlights the deadly risks deportees face in Haiti, where gangs control large areas, extortion is rampant, and state protection is limited. Advocacy groups continue to urge the U.S. and Puerto Rico to reconsider deportation policies amid the ongoing crisis.
L’Union Suite extends deepest condolences to the families and stands in solidarity with the Haitian community. We will continue to follow this case and related deportation issues.
If you or someone you know is affected by deportation concerns, contact trusted organizations such as the Haitian Bridge Alliance or local immigrant rights groups.
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