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Ask some, and he’s known for his mother’s fried chicken. Others will say he lights people on fire for fun. Either way, gang boss Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Cherizier is thought to have de facto taken over as ruler of Haiti. Mr. Barbecue has been at the forefront of the violence that has engulfed Haiti in recent weeks as gangs and thousands of escaped prisoners have tried to oust Prime Minister Ariel Henry and seize control of the country. However, despite the violence and rampant cannibalism (allegedly), Barbecue has one message for the world: ‘give Haiti a chance’. ‘We are taking the occasion to tell the international community to give Haiti a chance’, he told reporters in the capital Port-Au-Prince. ‘Because what is happening in Haiti now, we Haitians have to decide who is going to lead the country and what model of government we want’. He urged the international community not to get involved and ‘plunge Haiti into further chaos,’ before resuming his patrols and randomly firing his gun into the air. Jimmy Barbecue was once a respected police officer, until an incident in 2018 when he slaughtered 71 people, raped seven and burned down over 400 homes in one of Port-Au-Prince’s slums. Since then, he has risen to become the leader of the ‘G9 and Family’ gang, who have effectively seized power after attacking government buildings and storming two prisons, leading to the escape of over 4,000 prisoners. They are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Henry, who had agreed to step down in February after controversially taking over as ruler of Haiti following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021.
