Haiti has witnessed a spike in gang violence led by the infamous Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Cherizier, a former elite police officer, forcing Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign.
In the chaotic landscape of Haiti’s criminal underworld, one name that looms large is that of Jimmy ‘Barbecue’, the former law enforcer who now runs a gang federation that has consistently claimed responsibility for major attacks in the Caribbean nation.
Cherizier who is the leader of the infamous ‘G9 and Family’ gang and one of Haiti’s most important gang leaders, has been consistently vowing to fight until Henry quit.
“I am ready to make an alliance with the devil, ready to sleep in the same bed as the devil,” Barbecue was quoted telling his supporters during the attacks.
The G9 and Family (G9 an fanmi – G9), which was established by the widely feared man in Haiti, is a criminal federation of nine powerful gangs in Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince.
Cherizier announced the formation of the G9 in a YouTube video on 10 June 2020, soon after the May 2020 Port-au-Prince massacre.
According to the New York Post, Cherizier revealed that his moniker Barbeque was a name his mother gave him when he was a child, but in Haiti, it is widely believed that the 47-year-old was given the nickname because he sets many of his victims on fire.
History of Barbecue
Once a respected member of the Haitian National Police, Cherizier’s journey from law enforcement to leading one of the most notorious gangs in Haiti is as enigmatic as it is troubling.
Born in the heart of Port-au-Prince, Cherizier’s early life was marked by hardship. He was raised in Delmas, Ouest, next to the slums of La Saline, and was one of the family of eight children.
His father passed away when he was just five years old.
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Despite these challenges, Cherizier found himself drawn to law enforcement, eventually joining the Unité Départementale pour le Maintien de l’Ordre (UDMO), a special unit within the Haitian National Police.
However, Cherizier’s stint within the police force would be marred by allegations of brutality and corruption.
In November 2017, he was implicated in an anti-gang operation that led to the extrajudicial killing of at least nine innocent civilians in the Grand Ravine neighborhood of Port-au-Prince.
A year later, while still a police officer, Cherizier allegedly led a group of seven gangs in a massacre in the La Saline neighborhood, where over 70 people were brutally murdered, and hundreds of homes burned down.
Despite these accusations, Cherizier remained a prominent figure within the police force until his eventual expulsion in 2018.
From officer to gang leader
His dismissal and issuance of warrant of arrest came amidst mounting evidence linking him to heinous crimes, including the La Saline massacre. However, Cherizier vehemently denied any involvement, claiming to be a victim of political scapegoating.
Barbecue evaded capture, however, and participated in a four-day attack across Port-au-Prince’s Bel-Air neighborhood where he and other members of four gangs set houses ablaze and killed at least 24 people in November 2019.
Ahead of these massacres, Barbecue received money, weapons, police uniforms, and government vehicles from senior officials in Moïse’s government.
The massacres — which largely targeted opposition neighborhoods across Haiti’s capital — served mutual benefits for senior state officials and Barbecue. The government could crack down on opposition strongholds while Barbecue could gain influence as leader of the Delmas 6 gang.
Unfazed by his expulsion, Cherizier embraced his newfound notoriety and took over the reins of the G9 Family, a criminal federation of nine powerful gangs in Port-au-Prince.
Under his leadership, the G9’s influence expanded rapidly, controlling vast swathes of territory and key infrastructure within the capital.
Cherizier’s strategic alliances with political elites and state officials only served to bolster his power, granting him immunity from law enforcement and enabling his reign of terror to continue unchecked.
But Cherizier’s ambitions didn’t stop there. In a brazen display of defiance, he publicly challenged the Haitian state, demanding the resignation of interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry and threatening to unleash further chaos if his demands were not met.
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His audaciousness earned him comparisons to historical figures like Martin Luther King Jr., though his methods were anything but peaceful. Chérizier has cited former Haitian dictator François Duvalier as an inspiration.
Rise in gang-related attacks
Throughout his tenure as a gang leader, Cherizier’s criminal activities have been nothing short of horrifying.
His alliance with the G9 has been responsible for numerous massacres, including the infamous Bel Air massacre of 2020, where over 80 people were brutally killed.
Additionally, he is linked to the Cité Soleil massacre, which claimed the lives of 44 individuals. Reports of indiscriminate killings, systematic rape, and widespread extortion paint a chilling picture of life under Cherizier’s rule.
In November 2022, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution that imposed sanctions to Barbecue among other targets after being considered as the mastermind behind major gang attacks that have led to scores of deaths.
The sanctions came following accusations by the United Nations (UN) against the former law enforcer of toppling the country into “economic paralysis and humanitarian crisis.”
Despite facing the international sanctions and mounting opposition from rival gangs like the G-Pèp, Cherizier remains a formidable force in Haiti’s criminal and political landscape.
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With his stronghold firmly entrenched in Port-au-Prince and his alliances reaching the highest echelons of power, he continues to pose a significant threat to stability and security in the region.
Prime Minister bows to pressure
In March 2024, Barbecue claimed responsibility for orchestrating attacks that led to the escape of over 3,000 dangerous criminals from Haiti’s two largest prisons and killed around a dozen people.
Francisco Uribe, one of the few detainees who chose not to leave prison, claimed in a video posted to social media that “They are massacring people indiscriminately inside the cells”.
The prison attacks were followed by the storming of Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, which was repelled by security, before a state of emergency was declared on March 3.
Chérizier stated that the goal was to capture Haiti’s police chief and government ministers and prevent Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s return to Haiti.
Eventually, the Prime Minister gave in to pressure and tendered his resignation as the head of the Caribbean’s nation government.
According to the chair of the Caribbean Community (CARICIOM) and Guyana President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, Henry resigned on Tuesday, March 12 leaving the position he has held since 2021.
According to The Associated Press, Barbecue’s G9 Family and affiliated gangs control around 80% of the capital city
As Haiti grapples with escalating gang violence and political turmoil, the enigmatic figure of Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Cherizier serves as a stark reminder of the fragility of democracy and the dangers of unchecked power.
