HELL BENT ON CHAOS Gang master is so keen for power he’s vowed to make deal with the devil
EVERY few minutes, the booming rhythm of gunfire echoes through the streets of Port-au-Prince, providing a sinister backdrop to life for those in the embattled city.
Amidst a crumbling government and shadowy alleyways, gangs reign supreme in the Haitian capital, controlling a staggering 80 per cent of the urban sprawl.
And those areas so far untouched by the brutal grip of killer hit squads are left to fend for themselves in a poverty-stricken nightmarish landscape of violence and despair which threatens to turn into a humanitarian crisis.
For decades, Haiti has suffered misrule and teetered on the brink of unrest, particularly notorious for the regimes of father and son dictators ‘Papa Doc’ and ‘Baby Doc’ Duvalier and the Tontons Macoutes secret police.
Abyss
Still, the recent surge of gang violence has pushed it to the verge of an abyss and its prime minister, Ariel Henry, resigned this week out of fear.
With brazen attacks targeting police stations, the international airport, and even the national prison, the scale and ferocity of the violence are unprecedented, plunging the nation into a state of chaos and bloodshed.
And where power often lies in the hands of those who wield violence with impunity, one figure has emerged as both a symbol and holder of authority – Jimmy Chérizier.
A former elite police officer turned notorious gang leader, he is known by his menacing moniker ‘Barbecue,’ standing as a soaring figure amidst the chaos that has consumed Haiti.
He commands most of the gunmen, stirring anarchy in the capital, vowing to fight for control at all costs.
“I am ready to make an alliance with the devil, ready to sleep in the same bed as the devil,” Chérizier told supporters as his cohorts destroyed police stations and government facilities.
Some claim the rifle-wielding 47year-old mobster’s nickname comes from his penchant for setting his victims on fire — though he says it’s an old moniker his mother gave him.
But for Chérizier, he is a modern hero already likening himself to Martin Luther King Jr.
He was expelled from the police in 2018 for alleged ties to several horrific crimes, including the slaughter in the La Saline slums in which 71 people were killed, seven women were raped, and 400 homes were burned down.
Chérizier, who denied any wrongdoing, went on to take over the G9 Family gang coalition, which controls many of Port-au-Prince’s slums.
Henry’s resignation announcement and the formation of a transitional presidential council has only exacerbated the power struggle among Haiti’s political elite.
But while politicians jockey for position and power, Chérizier has violently elbowed his way into the race, demanding recognition and a seat at the table in shaping Haiti’s future.
“Even if you have a different kind of government, the reality is that you need to talk to the gangs,” said Robert Fatton, a Haitian politics expert at the University of Virginia.
“If they have that supremacy, and