Haiti is now being run by a man named Barbecue:
https://www.hindustantimes.com/worl...werful-man-in-haiti-101710139927660.htmlWho is Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Cherizier? G9 and Family gang leader is now the ‘most powerful man in Haiti’
BySumanti Sen
Mar 11, 2024 12:28 PM IST
Haiti is witnessing increasing gang violence in recent days. Armed gang members have attempted to control the main international airport, and attacked police stations and prisons. The aim is to get Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry removed. Earlier this month, Henry fled the country. He is petitioning the international community so a United Nations-backed security force can step in.
Who has claimed responsibility for the attacks? Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Cherizier, a former elite police officer who now runs a gang federation, has been leading the ongoing unrest.
Who is Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Cherizier?
Cherizier is the leader of the infamous ‘G9 and Family’ gang and has vowed to fight until Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigns. “I am ready to make an alliance with the devil, ready to sleep in the same bed as the devil,” Cherizier told his supporters last week.
It is believed that the 47-year-old was given the nickname Barbeque because he sets many of his victims on fire.
During an interview with the New Yorker, Cherizier had likened himself to Martin Luther King, Jr. He was a member of the Haitian national police but was expelled from the force in 2018. His expulsion came after he was accused of having ties to several heinous crimes, including murders in the La Saline slums were 71 people were killed and seven women were raped. As many as 400 homes were burned down.
Cherizier eventually took over the G9 Family. It controls several slums and streets of Port-au-Prince.
“Unfortunately, Barbecue is now the most powerful man in Haiti,” Judes Jonathas, an independent consultant based in Port-au-Prince, told The Guardian.