Haiti has descended into chaos and its Prime Minister has resigned. A gang leader, Jimmy Cherizier, who projects himself as a revolutionary, has become the most powerful person in Haiti. Cherizier is known as 'Barbecue' for burning people alive.
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Haiti, a Caribbean country, has plunged into chaos due to gang warfare. The US has airlifted non-essential staff from its embassy and the country has declared a state of emergency. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Ariel Henry, stranded outside the country, resigned.
This comes after gangs attacked airports, police stations and prisons. Thousands of jail inmates have fled too.
Jimmy Cherizier, popular as 'Babekyou' or 'Barbecue', is the leader of the notorious 'G9 and Family' gang and is now the most powerful man in Haiti, reports the New York Post.
It is said that Cherizier began being called 'Barbecue' because of his penchant of burning people alive.
Amid the rise of 'Barbecue', a video has emerged that shows a member of a 'cannibal' gang eating human body parts.
The video on X shows a Haitian man tearing flesh from the leg of a burning corpse and eating it.
Some of the videos uploaded on X have been removed now. There are reports that the videos are two-year old.
The latest round of chaos led by 'Barbecue' is an attempt to overthrow Prime Minister Ariel Henry and intensified after he left for a summit last week. He had gone to Kenya to secure the leadership of a UN-backed international security mission to help police fight armed gangs in Haiti.
The prime minister attempted to fly back but couldn't land there amid gunbattles as government soldiers tried to foil the gang member's bid to take over the international airport.
PM Henry could not land in the Haitian capital because its international airport was closed as soldiers repelled attempts by gunmen to seize it.
VIOLENCE AND CANNIBALISM ON HAITI STREETS?
Cannibalism has been witnessed on the streets as the violence in Haiti reaches unprecedented levels, The Daily Express US quoted a journalist on the ground as saying.
"We have seen images of gang leaders eating people they have killed. We have seen images of people being tortured when they are kidnapped," the journalist said from Haiti on condition of anonymity. The journalist said the violence and gore were "to paralyze people mentally".
After the interview, the journalist sent a message to The Daily Express US and said, "Cannibalism is not widespread, but definitely an indication of the worsening situation. It definitely happens on a few occasions."
Multiple videos have emerged showing the chaos in Haiti. In one people are screaming and running for their lives as gunfire from automatic rifles are heard nearby.
"Here is disturbing footage of the Haitian cannibal gang eating body parts of one of their victims as he cooks in the fire. The Haiti Cannibal Gang leader is named ‘Barbecue’ and is now the most powerful man in Haiti after their Prime Minster Ariel Henry fled," a post on X said. The video accompanying it had been deleted.
Reacting to the video and post, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said that similar visuals were seen in his country and the gangs in Haiti needed to be eradicated.
"We saw similar images in El Salvador a few years ago. Gangs bathing with the skulls of their victims. All the 'experts' said they couldn’t be defeated, because they were an 'intrinsic part of our society'. They were wrong. We obliterated them. The same must be done in Haiti," El Salvador President Nayib Bukele posted.
WHO IS HAITI GANG LEADER 'BARBECUE'
Jimmy Cherizier, popular as 'Barbecue', is a 47-year-old rifle-toting former police officer.
He was sacked from Haiti's police force in 2018 because of his role in slum murders and rapes.
Cherizier was removed from the police force for his alleged ties to a number of horrific crimes, including the slaughter in the La Saline slums where 71 people were killed, seven women were raped, and 400 homes were burned down, The New York Post reported, citing official reports.
Cherizier denied any wrongdoing and started his active gang journey. He took over the 'G9 and Family', which controls the slums and streets of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince.
A section of the people see him as a Robinhood and revolutionary.
Cherizier enjoys his ganglord status and has welcomed the international press regularly to apprise the world of his growing clout.
“I’m not a thief. I’m not involved in the kidnapping. I’m not a rapist. I’m just carrying out a social fight,” Cherizier told news agency Associated Press earlier.
The gang leader said that it was his mother's occupation of selling fried chicken that earned him the 'Barbecue' moniker. Though, not many believe this version.
Amid the resignation of PM Henry, regional leaders met in Jamaica to discuss the framework for a political transition.
Cherizier, who is known as 'Barbecue' for setting people on fire, might go on to capture power in Haiti.
(This report has been updated with the news of the resignation of Haiti's Prime Minister)
