Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier has been indicted on charges of conspiring to transfer funds from the United States to fund gang activities in Haiti and now has a $5 million bounty on his head
Donald Trump has placed a $5 million price on the head of Haitian warlord Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier.
The US Justice Department has accused the gang boss of funnelling cash from the US to bankroll his bloody criminal empire in Port-au-Prince. Officials announced the bounty – worth £3.7 million – offering the reward for information that leads to the capture of the 48-year-old former police officer.
He is wanted in America for allegedly violating US sanctions. Cherizier, along with alleged accomplice Bazile Richardson, has been indicted on charges of conspiring to transfer funds from the US to support gang activities in Haiti.
Richardson, a naturalised US citizen, was arrested in Texas last month. “There’s a good reason that there’s a $5 million reward for information leading to Cherizier’s arrest,” US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said. “He’s a gang leader responsible for heinous human rights abuses, including violence against American citizens in Haiti.”
Cherizier, who leads the G9 Family and Allies alliance of heavily armed gangs, is accused of running a reign of terror across the Haitian capital.
His street name is said to stem from his alleged penchant for setting fire to rivals’ homes while the occupants are still inside. He maintains it comes from his mother’s grilled chicken stand.
In one of the most notorious incidents linked to his rule, 70 people were killed in 2018 when he allegedly torched 400 houses in La Saline, a densely populated neighbourhood in Port-au-Prince.
The US Treasury Department placed him under sanctions in 2020, with the United Nations following suit in 2022.
The gangs under his command are accused of murder, robbery, extortion, rape, targeted assassinations, drug trafficking, and kidnappings.
According to US prosecutors, Cherizier and Richardson raised funds from Haitians living in America, funnelling the money through intermediaries in Haiti to pay gang members’ wages and buy firearms.
The G9 alliance played a key role in an organised assault last year that ultimately forced Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry from office, prompting the creation of a transitional council to take his place.
“Cherizier and (Richardson) sought to raise funds in the United States to bankroll Cherizier’s violent criminal enterprise, which is driving a security crisis in Haiti,” said Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg. “The National Security Division does not tolerate criminal gang fundraising in the United States, and will continue to pursue those who enable Haiti’s violence and instability.”
Haiti remains the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.
The United Nations estimates that at least 3,141 people were killed in the first half of this year alone, despite the arrival of a Kenyan-led multinational security force to support the country’s police.
Much of the capital remains under the control of armed gangs, leaving ordinary Haitians trapped in a cycle of violence, fear, and lawlessness.