BBQ threatens Haiti!
Port-au-Prince, Aug 7 (EFE).—
Jimmy Cherisier, alias “Barbecue,” Haiti’s most powerful gang leader, threatened on Thursday to overthrow the Transitional Presidential Council (CPT), which he accused of corruption, and said removing its members is the only path to restoring peace in the violence-ravaged country.
“We’ve decided to go to the Prime Minister’s Office and the CPT headquarters to end this situation,” Cherisier declared in a video statement released on the same day the presidency of the Transitional Presidential Council is set to rotate.
In the message, he urged residents living near government offices to clear the streets and allow his coalition of armed groups to pass, calling for popular support in what he described as a decisive battle.
“Haiti has reached a crossroads. Anarchy reigns,” said Cherisier.
The CPT was established in early 2024 to guide the country toward constitutional reform and general elections, amid a power vacuum and a worsening humanitarian crisis.
The council’s mission includes holding a referendum on constitutional changes and restoring democratic institutions.
But Cherisier, a former police officer turned gang leader, claimed the CPT’s nine members are “thieves” holding the country hostage.
“The only way for people to return to their homes is to remove those nine thieves from the supreme magistracy of the country,” he said.
The coalition of gangs known as Vivre Ensemble, led by Cherisier, now controls around 90% of the capital, according to the United Nations.
“We have decided to liberate the country with the force of our weapons. Haitian people, join us. Freedom or death,” he declared.
Violence has surged in recent months. Between April and June, at least 1,520 people were killed, and more than 600 were injured, mostly in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, according to the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), which called the human rights situation “extremely concerning.” EFE mm/seo
