The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Aug. 12 that it will charge Haitian gang leader Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier with conspiracy for his role in a scheme to transfer money illegally from the United States.
“Cherizier and a U.S. associate sought to raise funds in the United States to bankroll Cherizier’s violent criminal enterprise, which is driving a security crisis in Haiti,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said in a statement.
Cherizier was sanctioned in 2020 by the United States using the Magnitsky Act, which allows the president to impose sanctions for human rights abuses, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday.
His indictment under the Magnitsky Act is the first of its kind in the history of the DOJ, she said.
The State Department is offering up to $5 million for the capture of Cherizier, who is nicknamed “Barbecue” because he is accused of notorious human rights abuses—including a 2018 massacre in the Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Saline, in which the bodies of victims were burned, cut into pieces, and fed to pigs and dogs.
Cherizier denies the charges, and told the Associated Press in 2019 that the nickname comes from his childhood, when his mother was a street vendor who sold fried chicken.
One of his alleged U.S.-based accomplices, a naturalized citizen and trucker named Bazile Richardson, was arrested in Houston, Texas on July 23. Richardson also faces conspiracy charges for his role in funneling money to Cherizier.
“According to court documents, Cherizier is a former officer in the Haitian National Police and the leader of a gang known as the Revolutionary Forces of the G9 Family and Allies who helped to forge a gang alliance called Viv Ansanm,” a statement from the Justice Department said.
The name Viv Ansanm is a Haitian Creole phrase that means “living together.” The gang syndicate was formed in 2023, and designated a foreign terrorist organization in May along with another Haitian syndicate, Gran Grif.
Gran Grif has been responsible for 80 percent of civilian homicides in the Artibonite region of Haiti since 2022, according to the State Department.
Darren Cox, Acting Assistant Director of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division, told reporters that the State Department is also offering a reward for “key members” of Viv Ansanm.
“Tackling these networks means addressing every link in the chain, every cell, especially in the United States,” Cox said.
“We know someone has information that can help end this violence, and we want them to come forward and know that they are safe in doing so.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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