A major bounty has been offered for help apprehending Jimmy Cherizier, a gang leader known as “Barbecue.” Experts have doubts about whether it will make any difference.
This past week, the United States government announced a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Jimmy Cherizier, a high-profile Haitian gang leader known as “Barbecue.”
The bounty was offered on Tuesday, the same day that a criminal indictment in federal court in Washington accused Mr. Cherizier of conspiring to circumvent U.S. economic sanctions. The sanctions aim to prevent him from receiving money or support from the United States.
The moves were intended as a major escalation in the Trump administration’s crusade against officially designated foreign terrorist organizations, like the one Mr. Cherizier leads. But as killings, poverty and displacement in Haiti rise, will the case against “Barbecue” make any difference?
Who is ‘Barbecue’?
Mr. Cherizier, 48, is the most-wanted man in Haiti. A former police officer, he is the most visible figure of “Viv Ansanm,” a coalition of armed groups wreaking havoc on the nation.
He has told reporters that his nickname was derived not — as urban lore suggests — from roasting his victims, but from the fact that when he was a child, his mother ran a fried chicken kiosk. Long the leader of armed groups operating in the Delmas 6 neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, the capital, he emerged to lead an alliance of gangs known as the “G9 Family and Allies” and then “Viv Ansanm,” an umbrella group that formed to attack state institutions.
In November 2018, while serving as an officer in the Haitian National Police, Mr. Cherizier planned and participated in an attack against civilians in a Port-au-Prince neighborhood known as La Saline, according to human rights organizations, the Haitian police and the United Nations.
At least 71 people were killed, over 400 houses destroyed and at least seven women raped by gangs. He was fired after 14 years as a police officer and an arrest warrant was issued, but he has yet to be apprehended — even though he often makes himself available for media interviews.
In the interviews, Mr. Cherizier has denied the allegations and portrayed himself as a revolutionary out to topple corrupt oligarchs. He has acknowledged that gangs have committed atrocities, but he has called for dialogue to end the crisis.
In one interview, he said he had something in common with President Trump.
“During his campaign, he said, ‘We need to drain the swamp,’” Mr. Cherizier told SBS Australia. “That’s the same thing I want to do in Haiti.”
What are the gangs actually doing?
The gangs succeeded in toppling the government last year, after they banded together to attack police stations, hospitals and neighborhoods, but it is unclear what their ultimate goal is.
Gangs set up road blocks and charge tolls, making it difficult for people in Port-au-Prince to travel. They regularly kidnap people for ransom and have burned down countless homes. The main airport has been closed to international flights since November because gangs shot at passing aircraft.
Will the federal indictment change anything?
“There’s a good reason that there’s a $5 million reward for information leading to Cherizier’s arrest,” Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a statement. “He’s a gang leader responsible for heinous human rights abuses, including violence against American citizens in Haiti.”
But most experts who follow Haiti said the U.S. indictment was largely “performative,” given how long he has eluded capture. Large bounties for other gang leaders have yielded no results.
“This is very little, very late,” said Alexandra Filippova, a senior staff attorney with the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti.
Others noted that the 20-page accusation against Mr. Cherizier documented surprisingly low sums of money being funneled to him.
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