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.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The post Why Is the U.S. Offering a $5 Million Reward for a Haitian Gang Leader? appeared first on New York Times.
