President Trump’s Department of Justice announced an indictment for Haitian gang leader Jimmy Cherizier, also known as “Barbecue,” and Bazile Richardson, of a conspiracy to transfer funds from the United States to Cherizier to fund gang-related activities.
Since Cherizier’s Specially Designated National (SDN) label, he and Richardson have “led a wide-ranging conspiracy” to raise funds for the gang, the DOJ said, including soliciting money transfers from the Haitian diaspora across the U.S.
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs has offered a $5 million reward for information leading to Cherizier’s arrest or conviction.
“There’s a good reason that there’s a $5 million reward for information leading to Cherizier’s arrest. He’s a gang leader responsible for heinous human rights abuses, including violence against American citizens in Haiti,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.
“The U.S. government sanctioned Cherizier in 2020 because he was responsible for an ongoing campaign of violence, including the 2018 La Saline massacre, in which 71 people were killed, more than 400 houses were destroyed, and at least seven women raped by armed gangs,” Pirro explained. “The U.S. Attorney’s office is committed to apprehending Cherizier and bringing him to justice, along with individuals like defendant Richardson, who has sent money and other support to Cherizier from the United States in violation of U.S. sanctions. Our office is committed to keeping Americans safe anywhere in the world, and the gang violence that has ravaged Haiti must end.”
In 2024, the increase in gang-related violence in Haiti led to U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) airlifting non-essential personnel from the U.S. Embassy. “The increase in gang violence in neighborhoods near the U.S. embassy and airport has led the State Department to decide to proceed with the departure of additional agents,” a U.S. spokesperson told Agence France-Presse (AFP) at the time.
