Haitian police say it killed several members of Barbecue’s gangs

The Haitian National Police reported Saturday that it killed several members of the armed gangs of Jimmy Cherizier, alias Barbecue, during violent clashes on Friday night in Bas Delmas, the gangs’ stronghold, in the center of Port-au-Prince.

Police said they also seized firearms and dismantled roadblocks, reclaiming land occupied by armed gangs in the past few days. Known for founding the G9 and Family (G9 a fanmi – G9), a criminal alliance of nine powerful gangs, Barbecue is one of Haiti’s main gang leaders, and is wanted by Haitian for his alleged involvement in acts of terrorism and banditry. His criminal career dates back to his time as a police officer, when he was linked to several murders in 2017 and 2018, including the La Saline Massacre, in which 71 people were killed, and after which he was fired and a warrant issued for his arrest. However, he evaded capture and has since participated in numerous gang attacks and massacres.

According to InSight Crime, Barbecue has strong ties to the Haitian Tèt Kale Party (Parti Haïtien Tèt Kale – PHTK) and the police, and he also received money, weapons, police uniforms, and government vehicles from high-ranking officials during the government of Jovenel Moïse (2017-2021). In July 2021, after Moïse’s assassination, Barbecue’s relationship with the government suffered a setback when interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry took office. Since then, his gang has coordinated numerous armed actions and blockades against Henry, challenging the Haitian state and demanding the PM’s resignation. In August 2023, amid continued calls for a UN-backed security force in Haiti, Barbecue promised that any abuses committed against Haitians by foreign agents would be met with strong resistance.

A month later, in September, in a show of force, he marched through Port-au-Prince with heavily armed gang members, renewing his calls for Henry’s ouster. On Feb. 29, gang violence escalated after Bahamian Prime Minister Phillip Davis said during the Caribbean Community (Caricom) summit that Ariel Henry was committed to holding elections before Aug. 31, 2025. On Mar. 1, while Henry was in Kenya to discuss the deployment of the Multinational Security Assistance Mission in Haiti, the two prisons were stormed in Haiti by gangs, allowing some 3,000 prisoners to escape.

The gangs also tried, but failed, to attack the National Palace and set fire to the Ministry of the Interior. Barbecue reiterated his intention to overthrow the prime minister, and he warned that if the international community continued to support Ariel Henry, the country would descend into civil war. In statements to the press in which he was holding a powerful rifle and a long-range weapon, Cherizier stressed that the international community, especially the United States, Canada, and France, would be responsible for all the people killed in the country. On Mar. 5, Henry showed up in Puerto Rico, unable to return to Haiti after his trip to Kenya.

On Mar. 11, Henry said he would step down after a Caribbean Community (Caricom) extraordinary meeting in Jamaica, also attended by Canada, the US, France, and the United Nations. Caricom’s chairman, Guyanese President Irfaan Ali, said an Interim Council composed of representatives of several political parties and two non-voting observers from the religious sector and civil society would appoint an Interim president and prepare presidential elections. The announcement prompted protests on Tuesday in Port-au-Prince in front of the Canadian Embassy, one of the most significant foreign players in Haitian politics, along with the US and France.