U.S. indicts Haiti gang leader ‘Barbecue,' offers $5 million reward for capture

Miami Herald

21 hours ago

Haiti's most notorious gang leader has been indicted by a federal jury in Washington, D.C., after which the FBI announced a $5 million bounty for information leading to his capture.
Jimmy Chérizier, aka 'Barbecue' 48, is one of the leaders of the powerful Viv Ansanm gang coalition. Last year, the alliance was responsible for the deaths of more than 5,600 people, and already this year the number is beyond 3,000, the United Nations has said.
Chérizier's name was revealed Tuesday after federal authorities unsealed an indictment in federal court in Washington D.C. charging him and Bazile Richardson, 48, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Fayetteville, N.C., with leading a conspiracy to transfer money from the U.S to Cherizier to fund his gang activities in Haiti in violation of the U.S. sanctions imposed on Cherizier.
A former Haiti National Police officer, Chérizier is a fugitive in Haiti, where he has an active presence on social media platforms.
'Violent actors like Chérizier, and the rest of his criminal associates must understand there is no safe haven for them and people like them that traffic violence on a daily basis,' said Darren Cox, the FBI's acting assistant directeor for the Criminal Investigative Division.
Transnational crime threatens the safety and security of the U.S., he said, and the agency and others are tackling every link in the chain and every cell, abroad and in the United States. .
'We know someone has information that can help end this violence and we want them to come forward and know that they are safe In doing so,' Cox said. 'We urge anybody with information related to Chérizier, and any of his criminal network, to contact the FBI tips line or our local field office.'
The indictment is the result of a lengthy investigation into the gang leader's criminal activities, which began in 2022.
'His actions to fund the oppression and slaughter of Haitians, including firearm procurement and trafficking networks, fundraising activities, movement and usage of U.S. dollars, and violations of sanctions, are unconscionable — but today marks a step towards accountability,' said acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd M. Lyons.
On Dec. 10, 2020, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Chérizier, labeling him a Specially Designated National for his role in serious human rights abuses in Haiti. As a result of the designation, anyone in the U.S. is generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with or for the benefit of Chérizier, absent approval from Treasury.
The indictment claims Chérizier and Richardson, a trucker who was arrested in Houston last month, led a wide-ranging conspiracy with others in the U.S., Haiti, and elsewhere to raise funds for Chérizier's gang activities in violation of the sanctions imposed on Chérizier. In particular, the indictment says, the duo directly solicited money transfers from members of the Haitian diaspora in the U.S. Funds were sent to intermediaries in Haiti for Chérizier's benefit. Chérizier, used these funds to pay salaries to the members of his gang and to buy weapons from illicit firearms dealers in Haiti, U.S. officials said..
This is a breaking story and will be updated.