A $5 million reward has been put up for information that results in the capture of Barbecue, a Haitian gang leader, Jimmy Cherizier. Cherizier, a former police officer, is currently in charge of Viv Ansanm, a gang alliance.
Parts of Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, are under Cherizier’s authority and have grown hazardous. Numerous individuals are caught in the crossfire of the widespread violence. According to some stories, as lawlessness increases, bodies have even been left on the streets.
The United States claims that in order to finance gang activities, purchase weapons, and circumvent US sanctions, Cherizier and US citizen Bazile Richardson solicited money from Haitian communities in the US. Last month, Richardson was taken into custody in Texas.
Cherizier is charged with numerous serious offenses, such as extortion, murder, and kidnapping. According to rumors, he has set people on fire, which is how he got the nickname Barbecue.
Port-au-Prince is currently experiencing acute food shortages and a collapse in health services. Everyday life is risky because of the ongoing conflicts between gangs, law enforcement, and citizen groups. UN-backed forces have so far been unsuccessful in their attempts to restore order.
Cherizier identifies as a man of the people and considers himself a revolutionary. However, his efforts of seizing territory and obstructing food, medicine, and gasoline have left Haiti in a state of turmoil.
As a police officer, he started his violent career. He oversaw an operation in 2017 that claimed the lives of nine people. He was the leader of one of Haiti’s bloodiest massacres in almost ten years, which took place in La Saline in 2018. He became a full-time gang leader after being let go from the police. He oversaw a four-day assault in Port-au-Prince in 2019 that claimed the lives of at least 24 people.
According to the US administration, it will keep going after people who back Cherizier’s group and try to destabilize Haiti.
