Gang Leader 'Barbecue' Asserts Control As Haiti Descends Into Chaos
Keneci Network @kenecifeed
Haiti’s government declared a state of emergency last Sunday, after the Caribbean nation descended into chaos with videos and images on social media showing civilians running for their lives, screaming and ducking as gunshots are heard behind them in the capital Port-au-Prince.
Some images on social media show armored vehicles patrolling the streets and heavily armed military personnel escorting a group of civilians through a nearly deserted part of the city. Other unconfirmed videos show cannibal gangs roasting and eating their human victims.
The violence in Haiti has been mainly aimed at Prime Minister Ariel Henry who has fled the country. He was appointed following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021.
Henry had pledged to step down by early February, he later said the nation’s security needed to be re-established first in order to ensure free and fair elections by mid-2025.
As order collapsed, Haiti’s most notorious gang leader, Jimmy Chérizier known as 'Barbecue,' appears to be the most powerful man in the nation as the prime minister remains unable to return home. He is the leader of the notorious “G9 and Family” gang, and is in command of the bulk of the gunmen wrecking havoc in the capital. His nickname comes from his penchant for setting his victims on fire.
Chérizier has vowed to fight until the embattled prime minister resigns. “I am ready to make an alliance with the devil, ready to sleep in the same bed as the devil,” the rifle-wielding 47-year-old mobster told his supporters last week as his fighters destroyed police stations and other government facilities.
The mobster was expelled from the force in 2018 for alleged ties to a number of horrific crimes, including the slaughter in the La Saline slums in which 71 people were killed, seven women were raped and 400 homes were burned down, according to official reports.
Chérizier, who denied any wrongdoing, went on to take over the G9 Family, which controls many of the slums and streets of Port-au-Prince.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Henry remains in Puerto Rico where he arrived last Tuesday.
President of Haiti's neighboring Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader warned Henry that he was not welcome in the country.
“Given the current situation, the presence of the Haitian prime minister in the Dominican Republic is not considered appropriate,” Abinader said in a statement Saturday. “This decision reflects the firm position of the Dominican government to safeguard its national security and stability.”
The United States military said Sunday it has deployed additional security forces to its Embassy in Haiti and called for all nonessential personnel to evacuate. US Southern Command said an aircraft had conducted an evacuation at the embassy building, noting that only Americans were aboard.
“This airlift of personnel into and out of the Embassy is consistent with our standard practice for Embassy security augmentation worldwide, and no Haitians were on board the military aircraft,” according to the Southcom statement
US officials have said proposals for sending a UN-authorized security force to Haiti have been unsuccessful so far, with Henry failing to secure a deal in January while in Kenya.