Brace yourself for a story of chaos and crime straight out of Haiti, where a notorious gang leader just got slapped with a federal indictment in the heart of Washington, D.C.
Breitbart reported that a grand jury in the District of Columbia has charged Jimmy "Barbecue" Cherizier, a feared Haitian gang boss, alongside a North Carolina resident, Bazile "Fredo Pam" Richardson, for conspiring to dodge U.S. sanctions and fund violent criminal activities.
Let's rewind to the roots of this mess, starting with Cherizier, a former Haitian National Police officer believed to be around 50, whose dark path allegedly began while still in uniform.
His involvement in the horrific La Saline Massacre of 2018, which left at least 71 dead and over 400 homes destroyed amid reports of rape, marked a bloody turning point. This carnage, reportedly orchestrated by gang members and corrupt officers under his sway, was the worst in Haiti in a decade.
After the massacre, Cherizier was ousted from the police force, a warrant was issued for his arrest, but instead of facing justice, he built the ruthless G9 Family and Allies. This criminal outfit has terrorized Haitian civilians with robbery and murder as a matter of routine.
In 2020, the U.S. hit Cherizier with individual sanctions for his blatant human rights abuses, yet his grip on power only tightened. By late 2023, he joined forces with another gang, G-Pep, forming the Viv Ansanm coalition, a so-called "Living Together" alliance that has unleashed havoc on Haiti’s capital and beyond.
Viv Ansanm has seized neighborhoods, attacked key infrastructure, and even targeted Haiti’s ministries of Justice, Defense, and Interior. They’ve looted humanitarian aid, torched hospitals and schools, and blockaded roads and ports, choking the life out of an already struggling nation.
The gang violence exploded further after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021, with Cherizier and other bosses unleashing chaos across Port-au-Prince, where gangs now control roughly 90% of the city.
Despite international efforts, including deploying Kenyan police under UN oversight, the terror continues unabated. Rural communities haven’t escaped either, as gangs spread fear, displace thousands, and push Haiti toward famine.
The crime wave under Viv Ansanm’s reign contributed to the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry in February 2024, paving the way for a transitional government two months later.
Just last week, Laurent Saint-Cyr was named the final head of this fragile administration, only to face Cherizier’s chilling threat of a massive attack to topple it as the "final battle to free the country."
Cherizier styles himself a revolutionary, comparing himself to Robin Hood or Martin Luther King, Jr., in media interviews, while claiming he’d never harm the poor.
What a noble facade for a man labeled a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, whose victims include American citizens, and whose actions have earned Viv Ansanm a Foreign Terrorist Organization designation in May 2025.
Enter Bazile Richardson, a naturalized U.S. citizen and truck driver from Fayetteville, North Carolina, named as Cherizier’s co-conspirator in this indictment unsealed on a recent Tuesday.
Richardson funneled tens of thousands of dollars from Haitians in the U.S. to Cherizier’s gang, relying on small donations from hundreds of everyday folks and using American bank accounts for transfers. He was arrested in Houston in July 2024 after a two-year probe confirmed he knowingly flouted U.S. sanctions.
Richardson’s bravado shines through in an intercepted voice message: "Fuck you, America. I am defending my country." Defending, indeed—by bankrolling guns and salaries for gangsters who’ve turned Haiti into a war zone, a curious way to show patriotism.
"I grew up with Barbecue. He is like a brother to me," Richardson boasted in another message obtained by law enforcement. Brotherly love shouldn’t extend to funding terror, especially when it violates sanctions meant to curb exactly this kind of bloodshed.
The FBI isn’t playing games, with Acting Assistant Director Darren Cox declaring, "The FBI is committed to confronting foreign terrorist organizations wherever they operate."
That’s a promise conservatives can get behind—holding accountable those who destabilize nations and threaten American safety, no matter how far-flung the battlefield.