The powerful Haitian gang leader, Jimmy Barbeque Cherizier, has launched a threat against the political leaders who participate in the transitional council of the Caribbean country, which is yet to be established. In recent weeks, Haiti has faced an escalation of violence. Without going any further, this Thursday the country’s main prison, the National Penitentiary, in Port-au-Prince, was set on fire.
Barbeque’s threats against politicians were recorded on Wednesday and distributed via a rambling seven-minute audio message shared on WhatsApp. “Are you not ashamed?” said Cherizier, addressing the future members of the transitional council. “You have brought the country to where it is today. “You have no idea what will happen,” he added. “I will know if your children are in Haiti, if your wives are in Haiti… if your husbands are in Haiti,” said the criminal, also threatening the politicians’ families.
The mafia leader celebrated that the unpopular Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced on Monday that he will resign after the constitution of the transitional council and assured that it is only “a first step in the battle.”
The island nation is trying to resolve a long-running political and social crisis that has displaced thousands of people as heavily armed criminal gangs have tightened their control over the capital, Port-au-Prince.
After Henry’s announcement, it seemed that the situation had calmed down. Until this Thursday, when the fire broke out at the National Penitentiary, which has been practically empty since the prison was attacked by armed gang members on March 2, allowing some 3,000 prisoners to escape, including leaders of several gangs. The 17 Colombians imprisoned for the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021 were also in that prison.
Internal disagreements made it difficult last Wednesday to elect the members who will make up the transitional presidential council. The creation of the council is the result of the meeting last Monday in the capital of Jamaica, convened by the Caribbean Community (Caricom) to seek a solution to the extreme situation in Haiti and in which Haitian representatives, the UN and of international partners, including the United States, with its Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, at the helm. On the other hand, the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) is studying establishing an air bridge between the country and the neighboring Dominican Republic to guarantee the delivery of humanitarian aid in the midst of a crisis that has already caused the displacement of 15,000 Haitians. .
