Haiti: The rise in power of criminal groups

Moïse had appointed Henry as prime minister shortly before his murder, but he was unelected, so some politicians questioned his legitimacy.

Opposition to Ariel Henry’s leadership increased due to his failure to hold the elections he promised.

Moreover, the situation of insecurity worsened, forcing hundreds of thousands of Haitians to flee their homes.

One of the most vocal challengers to Henry’s power is Jimmy Scherizer, a former police officer who became a gang leader after being fired from the police force.

The former policeman, also known by his nickname “Barbecue”, leads a group known as “G9”, an alliance of nine gangs founded in 2020, and is said to have links to the Tet Kali party, which was led by the late President Moise.

Prime Minister Henry opposed barbecuing from the beginning.

The gang leader exploited Moïse’s assassination, which he blamed on the “stinking bourgeoisie,” to encourage his followers to engage in what he called “legitimate violence.”

Brutal attacks and looting were widespread, especially in the capital, Port-au-Prince, where his power base was located.

In October 2021, Ariel Henry was prevented from laying a wreath at a memorial, when heavily armed members of Jamie Scherizer’s gang suddenly appeared and fired into the air.

The gang leader, dressed in a white suit and surrounded by his men, then proceeded to lay a wreath at the memorial – an extraordinary show of strength.

His G9 gang was also waging a bloody war with a rival gang known as “G-Beep,” which is said to be linked to the parties that opposed the murdered President Moise.

Shootings and battles over territory are common between the two groups, extending from poor neighborhoods to central Port-au-Prince.

Schools and hospitals were forced to close, and more than 100,000 people fled their homes in 2023, according to the International Organization for Migration.

The International Committee of the Red Cross told the BBC that its staff had to speak with hundreds of gangs to be able to deliver humanitarian aid.

In a further flex of its muscle, the G9 gang also blocked access to a gas station in 2022, causing fuel shortages and impeding the delivery of some key goods, such as medicine and drinking water.

Haiti’s national police force – which numbers only 9,000 officers in a country with a population of 11 million according to 2023 figures – is struggling to confront gangs well-armed with high-powered weapons smuggled from the United States.

It is estimated that 80 percent of the capital’s areas are now under gang control, and people living in these areas face “inhuman” levels of violence, according to UN Humanitarian Coordinator Ulrika Richardson.

Ulrika Richardson said there was a 50 percent increase in sexual violence between 2022 and 2023, with gangs targeting women and girls in particular.

Henry has repeatedly called for international support to combat the violence, but so far only the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados and Chad have responded – countries that have officially informed the United Nations that they plan to send security personnel.

But none of them have arrived yet.

During this latest surge in violence, Henry traveled to Kenya to urge officials there to make good on their promise to deploy 1,000 police officers in Haiti.

Armed gangs are still trying to tighten their control over the country.

The most recent of these attacks was an attempt by armed gangs to take control of the capital’s airport, but a number of soldiers were deployed in the area to defend the airport.

Gunshots were heard in the vicinity of Toussaint Louverture Airport during the clash between security forces and the gunmen.

The gangs appear to be seeking to prevent the return of Prime Minister Ariel Henry to Haiti, who is believed to be abroad.

The Prime Minister had traveled to Guyana to attend a regional summit. From there, he traveled to Kenya to sign an agreement on the deployment of a multinational police force in Haiti.

While in Kenya, a coalition of gangs led by former police officer Jimmy “BBQ” Scherizer attacked police stations and stormed two of Haiti’s largest prisons.

About ten people were killed in the attack on the prisons. Thousands of prisoners escaped and are still at large.

A state of emergency was declared for 72 hours.

The Haitian newspaper Le Nouvelleste reported that international and national commercial flights had been suspended over the past few days due to the violence.

While Haitian civilians need more security, some residents view the deployment of foreign security personnel with concern.

The United States occupied Haiti, which gained independence from France after a successful slave revolt in 1791, from 1915 to 1934. Subsequent American military interventions between 1994 and 2004 also made many wary of outside “interference.”

Some of Henry’s critics fear that he wants to use Kenya’s police forces to shore up his authority, at a time when protests demanding his resignation are escalating.

Jamie Schrezier, known as “Barbecue,” was one of those who accused Ariel Henry of trying to consolidate his power by inviting foreign security personnel.

In 2022, the gang leader put forward his own plan for “peace”, proposing to grant his gang members amnesty and form a “council of elders” that would include representatives from Haiti’s ten regions.

At that time, he also proposed giving his gang positions in the Council of Ministers.

Since then, he has increased the pressure, trying to present himself as a “revolutionary” aiming to overthrow what he says is an “illegitimate” leader.

Scherizer said on March 1 that he “will continue to fight with Ariel Henry.”

He added, “The battle will continue as long as there is a need for it.”

Henry’s whereabouts are currently unknown, but with thousands of prisoners on the run and the powerful G9 leader publicly calling for him to step down, the prospects of the prime minister’s rapid stabilization of the regime are remote.