U.S. announces criminal charges against Haitian gang leader barbecue

U.S. federal prosecutors have announced criminal charges against Haitian gang leader Jimmy Cherizier, known as “BBQ” who leads a coalition of gangs that control the Capitol of most of the port powers.

Cherizier, 48, and U.S. citizen Mr. Basil Richardson have solicited funds from the U.S. Haiti expatriate community to help pay for gang members and buy guns for violations of U.S. sanctions, the indictment said.

Mr. Cherizier is a former police officer who is in Haiti and leads the Viv Ansanm Group (Living Together). The United States provided $5 million (£3.7 million) to obtain information that led to his arrest.

The group is accused of multiple murders, kidnappings and attacks on infrastructure.

“There is a good reason for a $5 million reward that led to Cherizier’s arrest,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a press conference Tuesday.

“He is the leader of the gang responsible for outrageous human rights violations, including violence against American citizens in Haiti.”

Prosecutors said he was suspected of playing a key role in the 2018 La Saline massacre, in which 71 people were killed, more than 400 houses were destroyed and at least seven women were raped.

Prosecutors said Mr. Richardson, who was arrested in Texas last month, was a U.S. citizen who grew up in Haiti. He lived in North Carolina before being detained.

Officials say he was also known as Fredo, Fred Leo, Leo Danger and Leper Brod, who helped raise funds that were then used to pay for weapons to gang leaders and buy weapons.

Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg said both of them helped “the violent crime business of Cherizier is driving Haiti’s security crisis”.

He added that the United States “will continue to pursue those who make Haiti violent and unstable.”

In May, U.S. officials designated foreign terrorist organizations from Viv Ansanm since around 2020. Earlier this year, the group announced that it was declaring itself as a political party.

In addition to the United States, Mr. Cherizier has been sanctioned by the United Nations, Canada and the United Kingdom, accusing him of intensifying violence in Haiti.

If arrested, he may be extradited to the United States. However, he remains in a position of important power on the street and is protected by the group members.

In 2021, President Jovenel Moïse’s unidentified gunman was assassinated in an Australian port.

Since then, the country (the poorest country in the Americas) has been plagued by economic chaos, little to no functioning political control and increasingly violent gang wars.

Gang control at Australian ports has resulted in almost complete breakdown of law and order, the collapse of health services and the emergence of food security crises.

In recent months, UN-backed Kenyan-led security forces have failed to regain control of the Haitian capital.

Meanwhile, the country’s humanitarian crisis has dropped to a new level. The UN report estimates that 5.7 million people – more than half of Haiti’s population – face acute food insecurity, with more than one million internally displaced.