> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.brownytimes.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # UN confirms receipt of Haiti gang leader's mediation request - URL: https://www.brownytimes.com/un-confirms-haiti-gang-leader-mediation-request/ - Published: 2026-11-04T17:28:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T22:52:16.000Z - Description: The UN confirmed a sanctioned Haitian gang leader's mediation request but has not agreed to talks. - Author: Browny Times - Tags: World, Caribbean, Haiti, United Nations The United Nations has confirmed receiving a letter from Wilson Joseph, leader of Haiti's 400 Mawozo gang, asking Secretary-General António Guterres to send a delegation to facilitate dialogue with international forces operating in the country. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Monday, November 2, that the organisation had received a letter bearing Joseph's signature. He stressed that its receipt did not constitute endorsement of its contents, recognition of its author or a position by the United Nations. The letter, dated November 1, requested dialogue and mediation. No agreement to hold talks with the group has been announced. **Salvadoran deployment** The request comes amid expanded operations near Port-au-Prince following the disappearance of four Salvadoran aviation technicians attached to the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF). The men went missing on October 18 after their armoured vehicle was attacked in the Santo area of Croix-des-Bouquets, east of the capital. Haitian police reported that an operation early Monday, November 2, involving police, the GSF and Salvadoran troops, had located the charred remains of the vehicle. There was no sign of the four men. President Nayib Bukele announced a rescue operation on October 21, and the Salvadoran government said it had 2,000 soldiers in Haiti by October 28. Dujarric said most of the additional Salvadoran personnel were not deployed under the GSF and therefore fell outside the mandate and reporting arrangements of the UN support office. Haitian authorities have described the disappearance as a kidnapping. Salvadoran officials have said they believe the men may still be alive. **Who is Wilson Joseph** Joseph, known as "Lanmò Sanjou", leads 400 Mawozo, which operates mainly in Croix-des-Bouquets. The gang kidnapped 17 missionaries and family members, 16 Americans and one Canadian, including five children, in October 2021\. All were eventually released or escaped. He has been under [UN Security Council sanctions](https://main.un.org/securitycouncil/en/content/wilson-joseph?ref=brownytimes.com) since December 8, 2023, and faces hostage-taking charges in the United States. The US State Department offers a reward of up to US$1 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction. **Haiti's human toll** UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk [told the Human Rights Council](https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2026/10/high-commissioner-turk-we-need-all-eyes-haiti?ref=brownytimes.com) in October that his office had documented at least 5,700 people killed or injured by gangs or during operations against them between January 1 and September 11, 2026. More than 230 people were kidnapped and more than 1,000 women and girls were raped in the same period, he said, warning that the real figures were likely much higher. For now, Joseph's letter remains a request from the leader of a sanctioned armed group, not the beginning of an agreed peace process.