NATION ON BRI
CHRISTOPHER BUCKTIN
EVERY few minutes, the booming rhythm of gunfire echoes around the streets of Port-au-prince, providing a sinister backdrop to life for those in the embattled city.
As the government crumbles, gangs reign supreme in Haiti’s capital, controlling 80% of the urban sprawl.
Those areas still not in the grip of killer hit squads are left to fend for themselves in this nightmare that threatens to turn into a humanitarian crisis.
And where power often lies in the hands of those who wield violence with impunity, gang leader Jimmy Chérizier, 47, has emerged as a symbol of authority.
The former elite police officer commands the bulk of the gunmen, stirring up anarchy in the capital and vowing to fight for control at all costs.
He told supporters as his cohorts destroyed police stations and other state buildings: “I am ready to make an alliance with the devil… ready to sleep in the same bed as the devil.”
Some claim the riflewielding mobster’s nickname, Barbecue, comes from his penchant for setting his victims on fire.
But he says it’s what his mum called him as a boy.
Chérizier, who is classed by some as a hero, likens himself to
Martin Luther King.
He was expelled from the police in 2018 for alleged ties to horrific crimes, including a massacre in the La Saline slums when 71 civilians were killed, seven women were raped and 400 homes were burnt down.
Chérizier, who denied any wrongdoing, went on to take over the G9 Family gang coalition, which controls many of the city’s streets and slums.
For decades, Haiti has suffered misrule and teetered on the brink of unrest. The nation was notorious from the 1950s to the 1980s for the regimes of bloodthirsty father and son dictators Papa Doc and Baby Doc Duvalier and the Tontons Macoute secret police.
The unprecedented scale of the recent gang violence has plunged Haiti into yet more chaos.
Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned this week out of fear.
His announcement and the
It’s not about wanting them at the table or not.. they may just take the table
ROBERT FATTON ON HOW POWERFUL THE GANGS ARE
creation of a transitional presidential council has only exacerbated the power struggle among the Caribbean nation’s political elite.
But while politicians jockey for position, Chérizier has elbowed his way into the race, demanding recognition and a seat at the table in shaping Haiti’s future.
Robert Fatton, a Haitian politics expert at the University of Virginia in the US, said: “Even if you have a different kind of government, the reality is you need to talk to the gangs. If they have that supremacy, and there is force, it’s no l if you want They may ju
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