U.S. Grand Jury Indicts Infamous Haitian Gang Leader Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Cherizier

A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia has returned an indictment against one of Haiti’s most notorious crime bosses, Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier, for allegedly conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions.

The grand jury indictment, which was issued on July 17 but not unsealed until Tuesday, named Cherizier and a North Carolina resident, Bazile “Fredo Pam” Richardson, as the leaders of a sprawling conspiracy to skirt U.S.-imposed sanctions and fund Cherizier’s criminal activities. Two additional unnamed co-conspirators were also referenced in the document.

As part of the conspiracy, defendants allegedly solicited money from Haitians living in the United States and used it to purchase weapons and pay salaries for Cherizier’s soldiers. Due to political instability in the impoverished nation, gangs control swaths of Haitian territory, including the bulk of Port-au-Prince, the nation’s capital.

“The FBI is committed to confronting foreign terrorist organizations wherever they operate, and Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Cherizier’s gang is no exception,” said Acting Assistant Director Darren Cox of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division. “Through intelligence, partnerships, and the full weight of federal law, we are dismantling FTOs and rooting out those who threaten the safety of our communities,” he added.

Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons said the indictment was the result of “a lengthy investigation into Jimmy Cherizier’s criminal activities.”

“His actions to fund the oppression and slaughter of Haitians, including firearm procurement and trafficking networks, fundraising activities, movement and usage of U.S. dollars, and violations of sanctions, are unconscionable — but today marks a step towards accountability,” Lyons said.

Cherizier and other Haitian gang leaders took control of vast amounts of territory after Haitian President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in July 2021. As of this report, gangs control about 90 percent of Port-au-Prince despite the deployment of Kenyan military personnel under a United Nations mandate to bolster Haiti’s security forces.

Last week, when businessman Laurent Saint-Cyr took over as the fourth final head of Haiti’s transitional government, Breitbart News reported. In response, Cherizier threatened to authorize a massive terrorist tack in order to topple the fragile government.

The U.S. State Department is offering a bounty of up to $5 million for information leading to Cherizier’s arrest.

Cherizier is a former Haitian National Police (HNP) officer who is believed to have embarked on his criminal career while still on the force. He was dismissed from the HNP and a warrant was issued for his arrest after he participated in a deadly massacre of civilians that killed 71 and led to dozens of rapes in 2018.

He was then able to build up a sizable base of support and built a sprawling criminal organization known as “G9 Family and Allies,” which has been implicated in thousands of murders and robberies.