US federal prosecutors have unsealed criminal charges against Haitian gang leader Jimmy Cherizier, known as “Barbecue,” accusing him of orchestrating a fundraising scheme to bankroll violent operations in Port-au-Prince.
The indictment alleges that Cherizier and US citizen Bazile Richardson, 48, solicited money from the Haitian diaspora in the United States to pay gang members and purchase firearms in direct violation of US sanctions.
Cherizier, a former police officer who leads the Viv Ansanm (“Live Together”) gang alliance, remains at large in Haiti, where his group controls large swathes of the capital. The US is offering a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest.
Authorities say the gang network is linked to murders, kidnappings, and attacks on key infrastructure. Prosecutors also tie Cherizier to the 2018 La Saline massacre, which left 71 people dead, destroyed more than 400 homes, and saw at least seven women raped.
Richardson also known by aliases including Fredo, Fred Lion, and Leo Danger was arrested in Texas last month. Prosecutors allege he helped raise funds that were used to pay gang leaders and secure weapons, fuelling what Assistant US Attorney General John Eisenberg called “Cherizier’s violent criminal enterprise.”
Viv Ansanm, designated by Washington as a foreign terrorist organisation in May, has dominated Port-au-Prince since around 2020. The UN, Canada, and the UK have also imposed sanctions on Cherizier, accusing him of driving Haiti’s spiral into violence.
Despite a UN-backed Kenyan-led security mission regaining control of Haiti’s main port, airport, hospital, and highway, gangs still hold much of the capital. The Kenyan contingent about 1,000 officers has reported shortages of resources that have slowed operations.
Haiti’s security crisis deepened after the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. The country has since been gripped by political paralysis, economic collapse, and a humanitarian emergency marked by food shortages, a breakdown of health services, and unchecked gang warfare.
