Fair question. The answer is a resounding no, as we can judge based on the actions of these groups towards the people in the areas that they have taken over.

A civil war would be a group with a clear socio-political motive/grievance against another (or the government).

In this case, we have individuals who are committing atrocities against innocent people. As you may or may not be aware, Jimmy “Barbecue” literally spearheaded a jailbreak from the country’s most notorious prison. Many of those are now part of his ans other gangs (or ‘organizations’, if one would prefer).

Looking closer, the people who are victims of these ‘organizations’, as well as the Haitian government, are both calling the groups ‘Bandits’, which, when translated from Kreyol and used in this context, means gangs.

I’ll be one of the first people to critically examine whether or not western media or governments slap a negative label on people due to their being black (because let’s face it, it has happened plenty of times before…particularly to Haitian people). But sadly, the label of ‘gangs’ is wholly appropriate in this case.