Haiti's brutal ex-cop gang leader dubbed 'Barbecue' who is at centre of violence
A powerful and brutal ex-cop gang leader dubbed 'Barbecue' is at the centre of violence rocking Haiti after 4,000 prisoners were freed from jail.
Jimmy Chérizier, Haiti's most powerful gang boss, has claimed responsibility for the recent violence as he looks to overthrow Prime Minister Ariel Henry. The prime minister went to Kenya seeking to move ahead on a proposed U.N.-backed security mission in Haiti to be led by the East African country.
Mr Henry, who has led Haiti since the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, has been pushing for the deployment of a foreign armed force since October to help fight powerful gangs that are estimated to now control 80% of the capital of Port-au-Prince. He has repeatedly postponed plans to hold parliamentary and presidential elections, which haven’t happened in almost a decade.
READ MORE:
Some prisoners have decided to stay in their cells (AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images)Cherzier said the goal is to capture Haiti’s police chief and government ministers and prevent Mr Henry’s return. The prime minister, a neurosurgeon, has shrugged off calls for him to resign and didn’t comment when asked if he felt it was safe to come home.
Abandoned prison which caged dangerous cartel killers found by urban explorer
Who is Haiti's most powerful gang boss?
Jimmy Chérizier, who is dubbed "Barbecue", is a gang leader who is the leader of the G9 Family and Allies gang alliance, and has huge influence and alleged ties to the Haitian government. The gang is believed to be more heavily armed than Haiti's police force.
The 44-year-old was given the nickname either for being the son of a street vendor who cooked him grilled chicken, or from the massacres cops accuse him of being behind. He prefers the chicken story, according to reports.
At just 5ft 8in, he does not cut an imposing figure but he has proven himself to be a mastermind. It's believed he was behind the carnage that saw 4,000 inmates freed from jail.
“The gang in this country is not those men with guns you can see here,” he previously said. “The real gangs are the men in suits. The real gangs are the officials in the national palace, the real gangs are the members of the opposition.”
Chérizier was seen in a recorded video announcing that the aim was to tie up the police chief and government ministers and stop Mr Henry from returning to Haiti. The leader admitted: "On behalf of the various armed groups in the country, I announce the return of the 'Viv Ansanm' coalition. Today, February 29, 2024, we launch the battle that must overthrow the Prime Minister and his government, this is our first objective.
He is dubbed "Barbecue" (RL Production/Youtube)"Today, I declare that the hunt for ministers and the Director General of the PNH, Frantz Elbé, is open. We must stop them and send them to join Ariel Henry where he is so that he never returns to the country."
"The Haitian people must be liberated. We will do it with our weapons." He affirmed: "All the armed groups in the country, in the provinces and in Port-au-Prince, are more united than ever. We, the armed men, have decided to take the future into our own hands."
Why is his armed group under U.N. sanctions?
Chérizier is the only Haitian under U.N. sanctions. According to the Security Council, he “has engaged in acts that threaten the peace, security, and stability of Haiti and has planned, directed, or committed acts that constitute serious human rights abuses.”
Violence is erupting across the region (AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images)He called on the Ministry of Education to reopen schools in Cite Soleil and other slums that have been closed because of warring gangs who are accused of raping and killing people. The violence has displaced nearly 200,000 Haitians whose homes have been torched by the gangs.
Almost all of the estimated 4,000 inmates escaped, leaving the normally overcrowded prison eerily empty Sunday with no guards in sight and plastic sandals, clothing, and furniture strewn across the concrete patio. Three bodies with gunshot wounds lay at the prison entrance.
Butcher breast surgeon could have hundreds more victims after old database found
A state of emergency has been declared in Haiti (SIFFROY CLARENS/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)A 72-hour state of emergency began Sunday night, and the government said it would set out to find the killers, kidnappers, and other violent criminals that it reported escaped from prison. Finance Minister Patrick Boivert, who is serving as acting prime minister, said in a statement: “The police were ordered to use all legal means at their disposal to enforce the curfew and apprehend all offenders.”
Why Haiti is 'in need of a leader'?
“The people are in need of a leader and are seeking one,” Chérizier told Vice in July 2021. “I am talking about the misery of the poor people. I am talking about my country which doesn’t have hospitals, professional schools, or medical clinics. People are sleeping next to pigs. If they call me a revolutionary for that kind of thing, yes, I am.”
Gang violence has broken out in Haiti (Johnson Sabin/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)The gang leader and two senior members of Moïse’s government were accused of organising the killing of 71 people in the La Saline neighbourhood. They were accused of trying to silence members of the opposition who were living there.
He denied the allegations but the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned him and the two politicians as “foreign persons responsible for or complicit in, or having directly or indirectly engaged in, serious human rights abuse."
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
