According to Western media, Haiti’s most powerful gang leader Jimmy Cherizier alias Barbecue has issued a call to his supporters to take arms and overthrow the Country’s sitting Prime Minister who does not align well with the political interests of the gang boss. Haiti, a weak Caribbean nation, has been in the grip of spiralling turmoil, lawlessness and chaos since the murder of politically elected President Moïse, who was shot down cold-blooded in his official residence in the heart of the capital Port-au-Prince. Since then, rifle-toting gangs have commandeered up to 90% of Haiti’s capital and there has been an explosion of killings, kidnappings and sexual violence turning much of the city into a no-go zone. Millions are struggling to eat, partly as a result of gang checkpoints blocking food supply routes, and captured water and fuel reservoirs.
Presently, Haiti’s government has requested the United States and the UN to deploy special forces in Haiti to help support the Caribbean state in defeating gangs that practically choked the state authority over the past one year. The Biden administration in consultation with the UN Security Councill approved a Kenya-led intervention designed to address the Caribbean country’s escalating security crisis. As the global community prepares to assist the Haitian government in crushing gang violence, the gang boss and his crooks are openly challenging the writ of the law and warning to overthrow the Chief Executive by force, while repeating the history when some unknown armed men killed President Moise at his residence about two years ago.
The masses became annoyed by persistent violence and a curfew-like life in their nation as a low-intensity war against peaceful and unarmed people is raging across the country. After the government failed to halt the bloodshed and crimes, a vigilante movement called “Bwa Kale” (public uprising) gained wide-ranging popularity among the masses and the public rose against the gangs with machetes, rocks and guns to protect their fundamental rights, together with civil liberties, and access to basic necessities. The Haitian government submitted an appeal at the United Nations several months back but a majority of nations were hesitant to deploy their troops because of the risks involved. Now the public has stood up against the crooks, hopefully they will champion this crusade against the criminals and Haiti will regain its peace very soon.
