"The Butcher" Destroyed Haiti
On Thursday, intense gunfire paralyzed Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince as Barbecue - a powerful gang leader - warned that he would arrest the country's police chief and government ministers.
Gang leader Jimmy 'Barbecue' Chérizier (holding a gun and wearing a bandana) is threatening to overthrow the Haitian government - Photo: Guardian
The move comes during the absence of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who is in Kenya trying to finalize details of the deployment of foreign armed forces to Haiti to help fight gangs.
Gunmen opened fire on Haiti's main international airport and other targets in a wave of violence that has caused panic and forced businesses, government offices and schools to close early. At least one airline, Sunrise Airways, has suspended all flights to and from Haiti.
Barbecue, in a video posted on social media, announced that his goal was to arrest the police chief and government ministers, and prevent Prime Minister Henry from returning to Haiti.
On Sunday, the underworld lord led a series of armed gangs to attack two major prisons, freeing about 3,800 inmates, killing 12 and threatening to continue shooting down anyone who opposed them.
The escalating violence has forced Haiti's neighboring countries to "turn on" alert mode to proactively prevent negative effects from spreading, and some countries have recalled their diplomats in Haiti and warned their citizens to leave the country.
From a good cop to a crime boss
What is happening in Haiti shows that Jimmy Chérizier, nicknamed Barbecue because of his penchant for burning his enemies alive, continues to play a leading role in pushing this Caribbean nation into chaos and lawlessness.
Born in 1976, Jimmy Chérizier was a former Haitian riot police officer. He was even an excellent and ruthless police officer, as he was said to have actively participated in a massacre of gang members in 2017.
Gang violence has made the streets of Port-au-Prince and many other parts of Haiti extremely dangerous - Photo: CTV News
But then, the chaos and poverty in Haiti pushed Jimmy Chérizier into illegal activities and he was kicked out of the service in 2018. From there, this former officer began to make a name for himself in the underworld, with the first stepping stone being the establishment of a small gang in the poor residential area of Lower Delmas (known as Base Delmas 6), a suburb of Port-au-Prince.
With his fighting skills, his organizational mind as a riot control expert and his ruthlessness towards his opponents, Jimmy Chérizier quickly expanded his reputation and rose to become the most powerful boss in the underworld. He now heads a gang alliance, collectively known as the “G9 Family and Allies”.
These men are as heavily armed as the police, bloodthirsty and ready to commit brutality. They control about 80% of the capital Port Au Prince as well as many areas of the country. Even the police do not dare to enter the areas they control.
Meanwhile, in addition to killing each other and other gangs over territory, they also killed many police officers and civilians in brutal attacks across Port-au-Prince.
According to the United Nations, gang violence killed nearly 4,000 people, kidnapped more than 3,000 in Haiti last year, and displaced more than 200,000. Chérizier and his gang alliance played a large role in this.
According to the United Nations, Barbecue's "G9 Family and Allies" coalition has blocked the free transportation of fuel from Haiti's Varreux fuel terminal - the country's largest terminal, directly contributing to the economic paralysis and humanitarian crisis in Haiti, leaving half of the country's population hungry and lacking medicine and necessities.
Barbecue and the “G9 Family and Allies” are now facing off against Gpep, an equally vicious gang alliance that lacks a single, egotistical leader. The two sides have been fighting for control of Port-au-Prince, with bloody gun battles since January that have left dozens dead.
Quang Anh (according to Guardian, Metro, BBC)
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