The United States has indicted notorious Haitian gang leader Jimmy “Barbeque” Cherizier and is offering a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest, alleging he violated U.S. sanctions by funding violent gang activities in Haiti.
Cherizier, 48, and co-defendant Bazile Richardson — a naturalized U.S. citizen arrested in Texas last month — are accused of conspiring to transfer funds from the United States to support armed gangs, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.
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“There’s a good reason that there’s a $5 million reward,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro. “He’s a gang leader responsible for heinous human rights abuses, including violence against American citizens in Haiti.”
A former police officer, Cherizier leads the “G9 Family,” a coalition of gangs accused of murder, robbery, extortion, rape, targeted assassinations, drug trafficking, and kidnappings. The group was implicated in a coordinated assault last year that contributed to the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
U.S. prosecutors allege the two men raised money from Haitian diaspora communities in the U.S., which was then sent to intermediaries in Haiti to pay gang members and purchase firearms. Cherizier has been under U.S. Treasury sanctions since 2020 and UN sanctions since 2022.
Despite the arrival of a Kenyan-led multinational security force to support Haitian police, violence remains rampant. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that at least 3,141 people were killed in Haiti during the first half of 2024.
“Cherizier and Richardson sought to bankroll a violent criminal enterprise that is driving Haiti’s security crisis,” said Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg. “We will continue to pursue those who enable violence and instability in Haiti.”
