A drone intended for attacking gang members detonated at a police base, raising questions about how the deadly operations are conducted.

Two Haitian police officers were killed and six others injured on Tuesday when a drone intended for targeting gang members exploded at a police base in Port-au-Prince, officials said.

It was the first government acknowledgment of collateral damage in Haiti’s use of aerial bombs against armed criminal groups.

Since March, the Haitian government has employed a drone task force run by an American private military contractor, Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater Worldwide, to target gang members. But the task force has been criticized for operating in secret and failing to coordinate operations with the Haitian National Police.

On Tuesday, an attack drone launched by the task force landed in an empty field without detonating. Local residents found it and took it to a police SWAT team base in the Kenscoff area of Port-au-Prince, the capital, according to a senior Haitian official who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Members of the SWAT team were trying to disarm the device when it exploded, killing two officers, the official said.

Two of the six injured survivors were seriously wounded, Fritz Alphonse Jean, a member of Haiti’s presidential council, announced on X.

“At the presidential level, we ask all our brave police officers to remain calm, keep our morale high and continue the fight to liberate our country,” he wrote, after visiting the wounded officers in the hospital. “We are taking all measures to shed light on this drama and provide good support to get through this difficult time.”

Drone strikes began targeting members of “Viv Ansamn,” a coalition of gangs the Trump administration officially designated foreign terrorists that has been terrorizing Port-au-Prince and the surrounding region for several years. More than 5,000 people were killed last year, and 1.3 million people — more than 10 percent of the country’s population — have been forced from their homes by the violence.

The strikes have yet to kill any leading gang members, though several have reportedly been injured.

The government has yet to disclose how many people have been killed in drone strikes and whether any of them were civilians. Human rights groups say at least 300 gang members have been killed.

Critics familiar with the drone strikes have assailed the operations, noting that experts say they are illegal under international law, and that the program lacks clear rules of engagement and transparency.

It is unclear whether anyone is tracking the deaths they cause or there is any accountability when things go wrong.

A person familiar with the task force’s operations who was not authorized to speak publicly said it had alerted the Haitian National Police that the drone had fallen and advised them not to approach it.

Though the investigation is ongoing, the person said initial findings point to a procedural failure in dealing with unexploded ordnance, the person said, adding that the task force will review protocols to ensure lessons are applied to prevent future such episodes.

The senior Haitian official called the drone explosion “regrettable,” but said it would not slow the battle against Viv Ansamn.

The task force’s coordination with the police, the official said, had improved in recent days because Haiti’s new police chief, Vladimir Paraison, had worked with the task force before taking the helm of the police force.

According to a human rights report by the United Nations, 236 people — including six civilians — were killed by drone strikes in the second quarter of 2025.

On June 21, two women who were not targeted were killed by a drone that was chasing two gang members in the Martissant area of Port-au-Prince. The drone struck as the gang members sought refuge in the home of a 47-year-old woman, killing her and a 53-year-old street vendor who was outside.

The U.N. report noted that it was not until June that the drones appeared to be used in a “more integrated manner” with the ground operations of specialized police units, while still remaining outside the control of the police hierarchy.

“The State solemnly reaffirms that no sacrifice will be in vain,” Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé said in a statement late Tuesday. “All necessary measures will be taken to protect our police officers, strengthen national security, and unequivocally assert the State’s authority in the face of threats to our people.”