Haitian Gang Leader ‘Barbecue’ Indicted for Conspiring to Breach US Sanctions

Jimmy Cherizier, known as “Barbecue” and leader of the Haitian gang alliance Viv Ansanm, has been indicted in the United States for allegedly conspiring to violate sanctions by funnelling money from America to fund his violent operations in Haiti. A US grand jury also charged American citizen Bazile Richardson, 48, who was arrested on 23 July in Pasadena, Texas, and is expected to appear in court in Washington, DC.

Cherizier, 48, a former officer in the Haitian National Police, is accused of leading the Revolutionary Forces of the G9 Family and Allies, a coalition of armed gangs behind atrocities including the 2018 La Saline massacre in which 71 people were killed, over 400 homes destroyed and at least seven women raped. The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Cherizier in December 2020, designating him a Specially Designated National (SDN) for serious human rights abuses. Under US law, American citizens are prohibited from conducting financial transactions with SDNs without OFAC approval.

Prosecutors allege that, despite the sanctions, Cherizier and Richardson organised a scheme with individuals in the US, Haiti and elsewhere to solicit money from the Haitian diaspora in America. Funds were allegedly sent to intermediaries in Haiti, with transfer receipts forwarded to Cherizier, who used the money to pay gang members and acquire firearms from illicit dealers.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Miami Field Office and Homeland Security Investigations’ Washington Field Office led the investigation, supported by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and several FBI and HSI field offices. The case is being prosecuted by the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

Concurrently, the US State Department’s Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program has offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to Cherizier’s arrest or conviction.

Officials have described the charges as a critical move in dismantling the financial and logistical networks sustaining violent gangs in Haiti. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said the Justice Department “does not tolerate criminal gang fundraising in the United States” and will pursue those enabling Haiti’s violence and instability. US Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro added that Cherizier is “responsible for heinous human rights abuses, including violence against American citizens in Haiti” and must be brought to justice alongside those who support him.

Read the press release here.