The most prominent gang leader in Haiti has threatened to take on any foreign military force that enters the Caribbean nation and commits any abuses.
Jimmy Chérizie, who is also a former police officer, called on the people of Haiti to rise up in rebellion. "We are asking the population to rise up," he stated during a press conference, as reported by The Guardian.
About a dozen journalists met with Chérizier at a Port-au-Prince construction site outside. Sandals, white slacks, and an orange sweater with a Vodou sign on it were his attire. Unlike his prior media appearances when they openly wielded assault weapons, numerous gang members were around him with little pistols visible under their shirts.
Warning to Foreign Armed Force
To combat the formidable gangs who are said to currently control 80% of Port-au-Prince, Prime Minister Ariel Henry has been advocating for the deployment of a foreign military force since October 2022. Henry has administered Haiti since President Jovenel Mose was assassinated in July 2021.
Kenya offered to lead an international force at the end of July at the United States' recommendation. The US also said earlier this month that it would introduce a resolution in the United Nations Security Council to authorize an international force that was not part of the organization.
According to Chérizier, the prime minister and other corrupt politicians and local police who are reportedly selling ammunition and firearms in Haiti's slums should be arrested, and he would welcome the assistance of a foreign force in doing so. "If the foreign force comes to help and provide security for life to start over again, we will also applaud," he added.
However, he warned that the Haitian people would rebel if any foreign force repeated the injustices committed by earlier UN soldiers, such as the accidental introduction of cholera into the water supply.
Chérizier as Powerful Gang Leader
Authorities have accused Chérizier, who heads the G9 Family and Allies, of orchestrating multiple killings in recent years and staging a fuel blockade in 2022 that immobilized Haiti for over two months. Chérizier has claimed that his organization is no longer at war with another group named G-Pep. "We became one. We love life a lot."
The UN Security Council has placed sanctions on the lone Haitian national, Chérizier, because of his alleged involvement in activities that endanger Haiti's peace and security and wholly or partially constitute significant human rights violations.
Cite Soleil and other slums' schools were shuttered due to gang violence, but he urged the minister of education to reopen them. Nevertheless, nearly 200,000 Haitians have been forced to leave their homes because of the turmoil.
