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GANG
Haitians
Haitians
Appearances: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Location: Little Haiti, Vice City
Leader: Auntie Poulet
Gang Type: Street Gang
Enemies: Cubans
Vercetti Gang
Diaz' Gang
Main Affiliation: Streetwannabes
Colors: Blue
Vehicles: Voodoo
Sanchez
Weapons: Pistol
Uzi
Tec 9
Machete
Businesses: Drug and weapons trading
Fronts: Haitian Drug Factory
Members: Auntie Poulet
Unnamed Haitian Gang Lord (deceased)

The Haitians, simply known as the Gangsters in edited versions of the game, is a street gang appearing in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. They are the main rivals of the Cubans gang and control the poorer neighborhoods of Vice City, mainly Little Haiti and sometimes Little Havana. They are one of the antagonistic gangs to the player in the game.

Description

History

The gang is headed by Auntie Poulet, an elderly Haitian matriarch who uses them as her own protection. Their leader gives Tommy Vercetti mind-altering drugs to make him use less-than-honest tactics in their war against the Cubans, knowing of Vercetti's strong relationship with them.

Auntie Poulet has Tommy go out into Little Haiti and collect three briefcases before the police do, blow up some of the Cuban's boats with an RC Baron equipped with the ability to pick up bombs, and help the Haitians win a fist-to-fist war by killing some Cubans from a distance with a sniper rifle. Tommy, strongly acquainted with the Cubans, helps them topple the Haitian's power in Vice City by helping them destroy their large drug manufacturing plant, thus killing more members in the process. This event leads to Poulet and her gang severing all ties with Tommy and warns him not to return to Little Haiti. From this point on, the Haitians will become hostile towards Tommy and later his gang, attacking both parties if seen in Little Haiti. The Haitians don't appear in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories meaning that they may have become active sometime between 1984 and 1986.

Mission Appearances

Role in story line missions

The Haitians make few mission appearances throughout the game with some of these missions involving the player retaliating against them. They first appear in "Guardian Angels" in which they attempt to ambush a drug deal in Washington Beach between Ricardo Diaz and the Cubans. However, their plans are thwarted by Tommy Vercetti, aided by Lance Vance.

They appear in "Two Bit Hit" attending the funeral of the recently slain Gang Lord. Here, they also act as protection for both the funeral the newly appointed gang lord, but are killed off by Tommy, who is disguised as a Cuban gangster, along with the new gang lord. This sparks the beginning of the gang war between the Haitians and the Cubans.

The Haitians appear alongside the Streetwannabes in "Naval Engagement", in which the two gangs are being involved in a drug deal, which is later ambushed by Tommy and the Cubans.

In "Cannon Fodder", the Haitians are seen fighting off the Cubans and Tommy, in an attempt from preventing them from accessing the drug factory and steal a van full of drugs.

In "Dirty Lickin's", some members are engaged in a fist-to-fist fight with the Cubans. Tommy acts as the armed supervisor over the fight by using a sniper rifle to kill the Cubans from a distance to win the fight.

The Haitians appear for the last time in story line missions in "Trojan Voodoo" where they are seen at the factory attempting to stop the Cubans and Tommy from planting bombs in their factory. However, they are killed and the factory ends up being destroyed, leading to Cuban victory. This also marks the end of the Haitian-Cuban gang war.

Other Missions

The Haitians appear in the "Trial By Dirt" side mission as opponents after it is completed for the fourth time and on wards.

The Haitians can appear in Rampages as the chosen gang that the player may need to waste members of.

Background

Behavior

The Haitians don't prefer to patrol the streets separately, but congregate and move in groups. Until the mission Trojan Voodoo is completed, the Haitians are not ordinarily hostile towards Tommy, and will only attack him in self-defense. Haitian gang members will also attack the player if the player carjacks a fellow Haitian gangster from his vehicle, or does any harm to the gangster.

After the completion of Trojan Voodoo, the Haitians will be hostile towards Tommy, and will attack him on sight if spotted in Little Haiti, regardless of what he's wearing, what car he's driving, and whether he is armed or not.

The Haitians may attack or be attacked by the Vercetti Gang if spotted around Print Works or the Kaufman Cabs depot. Likewise, Cubans will shoot and kill Haitian gang members that are spotted in Little Havana. Haitian gang members will also be attacked by the Patrol Invest Group if members are seen crossing the Links Bridge. The gang is frequently in conflict with the Cubans over turf, and the Vercetti Gang over control of their assets. The police will act against both parties when gun battles occur.

The police will pursue and kill Haitian gang members in the same manner as they do with other gangs or street criminals. The player can can receive a "Good Citizen Bonus" by helping the officer beat down the fleeing gangster. However, the player must be careful though, as the fleeing gangster or other gang members around the area will attack the player if seen. The player must also be careful, as the player will receive a wanted level of one star if the cop is attacked or killed by the player.

Appearance

One gangster appears to be wearing a white baseball cap, black sunglasses, a blue shirt reading "RELAX" in white text, white pants and shoes. The other gangster wears a light purple bandanna, sunglasses with an orange lens, light purple shirt, grey pants and shoes.

Weapons

The gang's primary weapon of choice outside of missions is the pistol, which they will attack the player or rival gangs with. Some, not if all members can also be seen fighting with their fists. The gang also uses other weapons but only during missions.

  • Uzi - during the mission Cannon Fodder
  • M4 - during the missions Cannon Fodder and Two Bit Hit
  • Sniper Rifle - during the mission Cannon Fodder
  • Machete - during the side-mission Trial By Dirt
  • Tec 9 - during the missions Trojan Voodoo and Guardian Angels

Vehicle of Choice

The gang's car of choice is a red Voodoo with a hydraulics modification. However, the gang can be seen in possession of a black Voodoo during one mission.

Haitian-American discrimination controversy

Gang war 1

A Haitian gang member fighting a Cuban in GTA VC. The Haitian people target Rockstar Games because of the way the gangs acted towards each other.

The third version of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, mostly the PC version, had all references of the Haitian people removed, along with a number of other trademarks. In response of the Cuban and Haitian groups of the United States, the groups threatened to use action against Rockstar Games, on the basis that they were discriminated against. A Haitian organization in the US against racial oppression was highly offended by the comments used in the game, such as when Tommy Vercetti was ordered to "shoot the Haitian dickheads". Because of this, the word "Haitian" was removed from the game's subtitles and the gang was simply referred to as "Gangsters".

Trivia

  • In the beta version of Vice City, the gangster wearing the white baseball cap had an ironed on picture of Uncle Sam's infamous "I want YOU for the U.S. Army" poster. Before the game was released, the game's developer settled on using a plain white "RELAX" text instead.
  • After Trojan Voodoo, when the gang becomes hostile towards you, they won't attack you if you have a gun wielded. However, if the host of that group has a pistol and sees you, then that group will attack you without hesitation.
  • There is a Haitian gangster that spawns inside the pizza shop in Little Haiti. He can be seen behind the counter facing the cook as if he is helping out, or a job offered by the Vice City Police Department. This individual gangster isn't hostile towards you in any way even after the collapse of the drug factory.
  • Even though the word "Haitian" isn't used in the updated versions of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, it still appears under the "Least favorite gang" section if the player wastes more gangsters than any other gang.
  • The Haitian gang may bear a strong resemblance to the real-life Zoe Pound, a gang in Miami that run criminal activities such as drug trafficking, robbery, and racketeering, similar to the Haitians. The gang is also made up entirely of Haitian ethnicity.
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