Latest news with #Jimmy'Barbecue'Cherizier
The Province
2 days ago
- The Province
U.S. offers $5M reward for arrest of powerful Haitian gang leader known as ‘Barbecue'
Jimmy 'Barbecue' Cherizier, is a former elite police officer who was fired and created the 'G9 Family,' an alliance of gangs blamed for dozens of killings Published Aug 12, 2025 • Last updated 20 hours ago • 5 minute read Gang Leader Jimmy 'Barbecue' Cherizier, centre, with G-9 federation gang members in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on February 22, 2024. Photo by/File A federal grand jury has indicted one of Haiti's most powerful gang leaders and a U.S. citizen accused of conspiring with him to violate U.S. sanctions and fund gang activities in the troubled Caribbean country, the U.S. Justice Department announced Tuesday. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. 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Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Jimmy Cherizier, best known as 'Barbecue,' is a leader of a gang federation called Viv Ansanm that the U.S. designated as a foreign terrorist organization in May. Cherizier lives in Haiti, and the United States is offering up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction. Chris Landberg, a senior U.S. State Department official, said his 'reign of terror and mass violence against Haiti must end.' However, Jake Johnston, author of 'Aid State' and international research director at the Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research, questioned the government's reason for offering a bounty. 'This is a guy who is giving international media interviews regularly. I don't think the issue is being able to find him,' Johnston said, adding that the indictment doesn't represent a threat to Cherizier since he lives in Haiti. 'It's hard to see how it'll have much of an effect.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. A policeman turned gang leader Cherizier is a former elite police officer who was fired in December 2018 and was later accused of organizing large-scale massacres in the slums of Grand Ravine in 2017, in La Saline in 2018 and in Bel-Air in 2019. More than 100 people were killed in the massacres, which Cherizier has denied organizing. 'Haiti is a hotspot right now … there is incredible violence going on there,' U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Tuesday, calling La Saline killings 'notorious because (Cherizier) both planned and participated' in the slaughter. In June 2020, Cherizier created the ' G9 Family and Allies,' an alliance that grew from nine gangs in lower Delmas and the Cite Soleil and La Saline slums to include more than a dozen gangs, according to a UN Security Council report. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The alliance was blamed for the killings of some 145 people in Cite Soleil and the rape of multiple women. In December 2020, the U.S. Treasury Department issued civil sanctions against Cherizier and others accused of being involved in the massacres. The G-9 alliance later became part of the Viv Ansanm gang federation created in September 2023 that saw the merging of Haiti's two biggest gangs that were once bitter enemies: G-9 and G- Pep. Since then, the federation has taken control of 90% of Port-au-Prince. It launched multiple attacks on key government infrastructure in February 2024 and raided Haiti's two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates. It also forced Haiti's main international airport to close for nearly three months. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The surge in violence led to the resignation of former Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who was locked out of his country while on an official visit to Kenya. The gang federation continues to attack once peaceful communities in Port-au-Prince, and it is accused of helping gangs in Haiti's central region. Also indicted is Bazile Richardson, whom officials say is a naturalized U.S. citizen from Haiti who grew up with Cherizier and lives in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Both are accused of leading a 'wide-ranging conspiracy' by directly soliciting money transfers from members of the Haitian diaspora to raise funds for Cherizier's gang activities in Haiti, according to the indictment. It stated that the money was used to pay the salaries of gang members and buy weapons from illegal dealers in Haiti. Most of the firearms are smuggled in from the U.S. since Haiti does not produce weapons. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. According to the indictment, there are two other unnamed co-conspirators from Haiti who live in New York and Massachusetts, and five others who live in Haiti. Cherizier said in a video posted on social media that Richardson never sent him money to finance anything in Haiti. 'If the FBI wants me, I'm here. I'm willing to collaborate with them on one condition, there can be no lies told,' Cherizier said, speaking in English. It was not immediately clear if Richardson had an attorney. The indictment noted that Cherizier and Richardson have acknowledged the sanctions against Cherizier, adding that the alleged conspiracy began around December 2020 and continued through January of this year. An FBI wanted poster for Haitian gang leader Jimmy 'Barbecue' Cherizier. Photo by FBI/AFP via Getty Images One voice memo that an unidentified co-conspirator in Haiti allegedly sent to Richardson stated: 'If I have backup, we will take the power, and you will be able to come back to your country. You will need to serve in the new government.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Richardson forwarded the alleged memo to Cherizier in June 2022, nearly a year after former President Jovenel Moise was killed at his private residence. Another person identified only as a Haitian co-conspirator allegedly sent a voice memo to Richardson saying, 'we want to start a revolution in Haiti and are trying to collect funds.' Part of the plan was to have 1,000 individuals give $20 each or 1 million Haitians abroad give $1 each, as well as collect money from 1,000 people for each of Haiti's 10 regions, according to the indictment. 'With this money, they can buy pick-up trucks, weapons, ammunition, clothing to include T-shirts, boots and hats. We want to change everything in Haiti,' according to one alleged voice memo. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In June 2021, Cherizier held a press conference announcing the start of a revolution. A crackdown on violence The indictment comes as gang violence continues to surge in Haiti's capital and beyond, with gunmen kidnapping an Irish missionary and seven other people, including a 3-year-old, from an orphanage earlier this month. The office of Haiti's prime minister did not immediately return a message seeking comment on the indictment. Johnston said the broader strategy in the fight against gangs remains unclear. 'It does seem like there's sort of an escalatory framework happening both in Haiti and the U.S.,' he said. 'Where does that actually go?' Darren Cox, acting assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division, said the bureau's Miami office is leading the effort to apprehend Cherizier. 'The FBI is focused more than ever on crushing violent crime,' Cox said. 'There is no safe haven for them, or the people like them.' Read More Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here. Vancouver Whitecaps News Vancouver Whitecaps News International Soccer
Epoch Times
3 days ago
- Epoch Times
DOJ Unveils Charges Against Haitian Gang Leader ‘Barbecue' Over Sanction Violations
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Aug. 12 that it will charge Haitian gang leader Jimmy 'Barbecue' Cherizier with conspiracy for his role in a scheme to transfer money illegally from the United States. 'Cherizier and a U.S. associate sought to raise funds in the United States to bankroll Cherizier's violent criminal enterprise, which is driving a security crisis in Haiti,' Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said in a statement.
