we met “Barbecue”, this gang leader who threatens a civil war

While criminal gangs control much of the capital Port-au-Prince, one of these gang leaders is promising a “civil war that will lead to genocide” if Prime Minister Ariel Henry does not resign. A few months ago, a Radio France journalist met this man nicknamed “Barbecue” and who now has several thousand men in his pay.

“The real problem in this country, believe me, is Ariel Henry”, this is what Jimmy Chérizier explained a few months ago to the journalist from the international editorial team of Radio France, Omar Ouahmane. During a report in Port-au-Prince, he met this 46-year-old gang leader nicknamed “Barbecue”, who today threatens the country with a “civil war” if Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry does not resign.

“We are fighting for change in this country, this country in time which was the pearl of the Antilles”, then explained “Barbecue”. Asked about his motivations, the gang leader did not have harsh enough words to describe the government in place.

“Our leaders are corrupt, the police are corrupt, the justice system is even worse. Nothing is working.”

“The rest of us are part of the problem and we have our share of responsibility, I accept that and I take responsibility for it. But the real problem in this country, believe me, is Ariel Henry, it’s the oligarchs corrupt and they control 85% of the country. They control the entire economy of the country”denounced Jimmy Chérizier a few months ago.

The man who presents himself as being at the head of an armed group, and not a gang, has not always been illegal since he spent 14 years in an elite force of the Haitian police. However, his life was turned upside down after a police operation that he led in the Saline district and during which a massacre took place. The NGOs pointed the finger at the direct responsibility of Jimmy Chérizier who was suspended from his functions and then became the leader of the “G9” gang.

For Jimmy Chérizier, the government of Ariel Henry is “a government of criminals”, “bandits”. Its objective is to regain power and install a man or woman who does not come from this system described as corrupt. As such, “Barbecue” considers that its men are campaigning for justice. Above all, “Barbecue” regrets that the international community supports Prime Minister Ariel Henry in power since the assassination in 2021 of President Jovenel Moïse.

In an interview with the press, the former police officer now makes a grim prediction: “Either Haiti becomes a paradise for us all, or a hell for us all”.