A video featuring Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier surfaced over the weekend, refuting widespread but unverified reports of his death or injury following a major government-led security operation targeting gangs in Bas-Delmas. The footage, released Saturday night, directly contradicts claims that the leader of the powerful G9 Family had been wounded in the operation.
The operation, confirmed by Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, was part of a renewed effort by security forces to reclaim control of areas long dominated by armed gangs.
“The Task Force created by the government and the Presidential Transitional Council (CPT), in less than 48 hours, is already yielding results,” Fils-Aimé announced on the social media platform X. “A large-scale operation is underway in Bas-Delmas, and several gang members have already been neutralized. Security forces are mobilized, and a state of readiness has been declared.”
He added: “The state will not give in to terror. Haitian people, keep hope: the government stands with you in these difficult times. The fight against gangs is advancing. Haiti will take control of its destiny! The PNH is going on the offensive against armed gangs.”
In the aftermath, speculation quickly spread that Chérizier had been seriously injured or even killed during the offensive.
Yet, Chérizier himself swiftly moved to quash these rumors. In a two-minute video statement, the gang leader, dressed in black, dismissed reports of his injury, stating, “I am alive. I will now explain to you how the battle will end.”
He also claimed that security forces had used explosive drones in an attempt to assassinate him. “Explosive drones were used to target me,” he alleged. “I can now use explosive drones to reach anyone in the country,” he warned, implying that he had access to the same technology as the Haitian security forces.
Chérizier, a former police officer-turned-warlord, leads the G9 Family and Allies gang federation, a powerful criminal alliance that has maintained a stranglehold over large parts of Port-au-Prince. Despite international sanctions and arrest warrants, Chérizier has continued to evade capture.
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