Haiti: Portraits of Junior Célestin and Osnel Espérance, journalists abducted in Port-au-Prince and presumed executed

The two journalists were abducted by armed men while reporting in downtown Port-au-Prince on 13 March 2026. RENAJOUH announced at the end of March that, on the basis of interviews conducted in the field with individuals likely to have access to information from Village-de-Dieu, a nearby gang stronghold, it now believed the two journalists had been executed. RSF is publishing these portraits of the two media professionals, victims of the political and security crisis affecting the country, where crimes against journalists are committed with complete impunity.

Driven by the same determination to provide access to information

Aged 48, Osnel Espérance worked as a video reporter for Radio Télé UNI FM. The station's director, Jocelyn Perez, said he had worked there for two years. He covered news in the area around Toussaint Louverture International Airport and in the municipality of Tabarre, located within the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. He also ran his own YouTube channel. Jocelyn Perez described him to RSF as "a model employee, an experienced professional who occupied an important place within the newsroom." He also highlighted his command of the camera and his ability to process images in real time for immediate broadcasting. According to Perez, Osnel Espérance had a particular interest in issues related to the population's safety, closely monitoring gang movements and law enforcement's responses to the security crisis.

Osnel Espérance's wife told RSF that she has had no news of her husband, the father of her children, since the moment of his abduction. More than two months later, in the absence of publicly verifiable information regarding his fate and without confirmation concerning his body, the lack of news continues to weigh heavily on his relatives.

Junior Célestin worked for Radio Télévision Megastar. Like Osnel Espérance, he was a reporter accustomed to covering breaking news stories, both political and cultural ones. According to RSF's interviews, he reported from especially sensitive areas in and around the capital, including the adjoining municipality of Delmas, downtown Port-au-Prince, the Champ-de-Mars area and the area around the National Palace.

Colleagues interviewed by RSF describe Junior Célestin as a calm, steady journalist deeply committed to his work. A Haitian journalist who agreed to be quoted anonymously explained that both Junior and Osnel were "very calm men," always motivated to go into the field. He added that "what characterised them was their good judgement." Another source described them as two reporters who worked as a team, present in the streets every day and driven by the same determination to seek information and make it available to the public.

Increasingly dangerous and precarious journalism

Their stories shed light on a broader reality. "The disappearance of these two colleagues constitutes a real tragedy for the profession," RENAJOUH general coordinator Jonas Montes told RSF. In the statement announcing their presumed execution at the end of March, RENAJOUH denounced claims circulated by armed groups and insisted that "under no circumstances could any alleged collaboration between the two journalists and the police as informants ever justify this criminal act."

Widlore Mérancourt, the editor-in-chief of the AyiboPost news site, said he did not personally know Osnel Espérance or Junior Célestin, but stressed that journalists are generally exposed to accusations from both sides and may be perceived by both police and armed groups as informants for the other side.

Conditions for practising journalism have deteriorated considerably in Haiti, ranked 107th in RSF's 2026 World Press Freedom Index, and entire areas are now under the control of armed groups that target journalists, while the state is unable to protect them.

A Haitian journalist who requested anonymity for security reasons said the situation is particularly critical for field reporters, especially those working for online media outlets. He said they are often subjected to verbal and physical attacks and find themselves caught between conflicting suspicions. In his view, the abduction of Osnel Espérance and Junior Célestin has reinforced the climate of fear among journalists in the capital.

Beyond the psychological impact, Haitian journalists suffer from a severe lack of resources. Several sources stressed to RSF the urgent need for protective equipment and training adapted to a high-risk environment. Without adequate preparation or tools, journalism in Haiti is increasingly becoming an exercise in survival.

The abduction of Osnel Espérance and Junior Célestin highlights the level of exposure faced by field reporters in Haiti, where armed violence left at least 5,519 dead and 2,608 injured between 1 March 2025 and 15 January 2026, according to a report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) meanwhile reported 17 abductions, two enforced disappearances, 13 armed attacks, six attacks against media outlets and a total of at least 41 journalists affected.

According to several sources consulted by RSF, Haiti's interim government has not yet publicly commented on the disappearance of the two journalists. This silence reinforces the sense of abandonment within the profession and among the victims' relatives.

RSF issued a joint call with more than 90 Haitian media professionals in April 2024 for stronger protection for journalists and media outlets, and has been reiterating this call ever since.