Haiti’s most powerful gang leader, Jimmy ‘Barbecue’, calls for armed overthrow of the prime minister after taking control of most of the capital
- Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Cherizier led his men through Port-au-Prince yesterday
- Mr Cherizier is calling for the armed overthrow of prime minister Ariel Henry
- Haiti has been in chaos since president Jovenal Moise was assassinated in 2021
Haiti’s most powerful gang leader, Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Cherizier, called for the overthrow of his fragile Caribbean nation’s prime minister yesterday as he led armed followers on a march through Port-au-Prince.
Mr Cherizier, who leads the ‘G9 Family and Allies’ coalition of gangs, called on Haitians to take to the streets against prime minister Ariel Henry. He was flanked by armed gang members as he walked through the streets of the capital, where his followers blocked roads and banged drums.
‘We are launching the fight to overturn Ariel Henry’s government in any way,’ Mr Cherizier said, and promised daily demonstrations in parts of Port-au-Prince. ‘Our fight will be with weapons,’ he added.
Gangs have exploited political chaos in Haiti to seize control over much of the capital ever since president Jovenal Moise was assassinated in July 2021.
Mr Henry has been governing on an interim basis since, and has pledged to hold elections once security has been re-established in Haiti.
Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Cherizier, leader of the ‘G9’ coalition, led a march surrounded by his security against Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry, in Port-au-Prince yesterday
Gangs have exploited political chaos in Haiti to seize control over much of the capital, ever since president Jovenal Moise was assassinated in July 2021
Mr Cherizier is a former police officer who was the first person sanctioned by the United Nations in 2022
While Port-au-Prince’s gangs were previously dependent on high-level backers within the Haitian elite, they have begun to operate with far greater autonomy over recent years.
Gangs have been engaged in repeated shootouts with police and Mr Cherizier’s G9 have repeatedly blockaded key economic installations as part of his campaign against the government.
Mr Cherizier is a former police officer who was the first person sanctioned by the United Nations in 2022 under a new sanctions regime aimed at those ‘threatening the police, security or stability of Haiti’.
He is accused of crimes against civilians, including a massacre in the Port-au-Prince neighbourhood of La Saline, in 2018.
Kenya is widely expected to lead a UN-sponsored public security force to help Haiti’s overstretched and undermanned police pending a UN Security Council vote. It is expected that the 2,000-strong force will deploy next month.
Mr Cherizier is calling for the overthrow of incumbent prime minister Ariel Henry. He told reporters: ‘Our fight will be with weapons’
Kenya is widely expected to lead a UN-sponsored security force to help Haiti’s overstretched and undermanned police force
Mr Cherizer claimed says that his nickname, ‘Barbecue’, was acquired when his mother was a fried chicken street seller
Haiti has only 10,000 police officers.
Port-au-Prince requested international help in October 2022. There is concern among some in Haiti that the deployment of an international force would help Mr Henry, who is accused of being an obstacle to establishing some semblance of stability in the country, entrench his grip on power.
Mr Cherizer issued a stark warning to the international community on Tuesday. ‘The international community cannot continue to do this in Haiti,’ he said. ‘If the international community has nothing to do with [Jovenal Moise’s] death, they must not support Ariel Henry.’
There are an over 200 gangs operating in Haiti, according to an estimate by the International Crisis Group. The United Nations estimates that at least 1.5m, or half of Port-au-Prince’s population has been affected by violence involving gangs.
Mr Cherizer claimed to news agency AP that his nickname, ‘Barbecue’, was acquired when his mother was a fried chicken street seller.
There are believed to be over 200 gangs operating in Haiti, according to the International Crisis Group
Mr Cherizier issued a warning to the international community, saying: ‘they must not support Ariel Henry’
Heavily armed men accompanied Mr Cherizier on his march through Port-au-Prince
This year, Haiti has also been grappling with a renewed cholera outbreak and tensions with the neighbouring Dominican Republic. Several aid agencies have paused operations in Haiti due to the deteriorating security situation and lack of funds for projects there.
The Dominican Republic closed its border with Haiti on Friday, protesting plans to construct a canal on the Massacre River. The Dominican Republic claims that such plans would violate an existing border treaty from the 1920s.
UN officials have warned that the border closure could have ‘serious impacts’ given that significant proportions of humanitarian aid, food, medicine, and other supplies to Haiti pass through the Dominican Republic.
The diplomatic crisis between Haiti and the Dominican Republic comes as Santo Domingo has been reporting thousands of Haitians back across the border amid tensions over immigration.
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