Armed gangs in Haiti, Kenya and Peru have adopted the name "Taliban", BBC Swahili reported on Sunday. The groups have no link to the Taliban movement in Afghanistan and Pakistan. They borrow the name for its image of strength and defiance.
In Haiti, the Taliban is one of many armed groups that have wielded strong influence for decades. A UN report found that more than 5,700 people were killed or injured in nine months. The violence was linked to armed groups or to operations against them. The report estimated that at least 1,000 women and girls were raped in the same period.
Armed groups now control 80% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, according to the BBC. Haiti has more than 11 million people. It has not held an election in 10 years, and its president was killed five years ago.
Romain Le Cour heads Haiti and Caribbean monitoring at an international organised crime and security institute. He said there are between 150 and 200 such groups. He said they control all roads into the capital and charge fees at checkpoints, including on goods coming from the port. He added that international airports have closed and that the groups set their own rules in areas police cannot reach.
The editor of a Haitian online outlet told the BBC that the name comes directly from the Afghan Taliban. The gang sees them as brave rebels who fear nothing, the editor said. Le Cour said that in street slang, "Taliban" means a person with power, respect and influence. The gang is based in the Canaan area of Port-au-Prince. Three years ago, it seized a radio station in Mirebalais and renamed it "Taliban FM" to broadcast its leader's speeches.
A report to the UN Security Council named the Taliban alongside other gangs. It said the groups operate as criminal organisations involved in smuggling arms, drugs and fuel, abusing migrants and extortion. Members say they fight for "justice and equality", and one of their leaders won a seat in Haiti's Senate.
In Kenya, a group calling itself Taliban formed in the early 2000s after splitting from the "Baghdad Boys", the BBC reported. In Peru, "Los Taliban" operates in the city of Trujillo, extorting transport firms and fighting rival gangs. Peruvian police announced arrests of its members last year and said they had broken up one of its cells.