May 17, 2024
Jimmy Chérizier (Barbecue), the outspoken and charismatic Haitian gang leader in charge of hundreds of members in Haiti, is a wanted man.
Reports have it he is behind much of the violence that erupted in Haiti in the last two years and he is showing no signs of easing how. How will international troops led by Kenya interact with Barbecue? That remains to be seen.
While United Nations Peace Keeping troops have more of an observatory posture when they enter a war-torn country, not everyone would understand that and when fighting erupts, people should be expected to defend themselves- this is why the haze of warfare is so confusing.
The risk these Kenyan troops are putting themselves at must be commended. But do they have special order to extract and execute Barbecue? One would assume Barbecue and his gang are known to the multinational forces set to land on Haiti and Barbecue has already said it will be a “massacre” if Kenyan troops interfere with him and his gangs efforts.
We will wait to see how this all plays out, but it is a risk someone must take to bring stability to Haiti.