Police say several “gang members” have been killed in a police operation to capture leader Jimmy “Barbeque” Charizard in Haiti.

(CNN) — The Haitian National Police announced this Saturday that several “gang members” were killed during a police operation in the Port-au-Prince neighborhood, where leader Jimmy “Barbecue” Charizier lives and works.

Officials said they exchanged gunfire with men from Charizard in the operation, which was carried out on Friday to “disrupt the actions of armed gangs”.

Police also said they had seized firearms and reopened streets in the Lower Delmas neighborhood.

A statement from the PNH said, “The police establishment is implementing new strategies aimed at reclaiming some areas occupied by these armed gangs in recent days, in order to facilitate the free movement of peaceful citizens Could.”

Two law enforcement sources told CNN on Friday that authorities had launched the operation in Lower Delmas as special forces pursued Charizier.

Saturday’s police statement did not specify whether the gang leader had been traced.

The statement ensures that a report on the progress of the operations will soon be presented to the public.

Who is Jimmy “Barbeque” Charizier?

Amid the wave of violence in Port-au-Prince, the face of the gang leader who has become the face of attacks against the government emerged: Jimmy “Barbeque” (or Barbacoa in Spanish) Charizier.

Gang leader Jimmy “Barbeque” Charizier poses for a photo with gang members in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (Credit: Giles Clarke)

Charizard is not the only gang leader in Haiti, although he has become the most famous and appears to be the head of the Viv Ansanam (or Living Together) gang alliance, which controls 80% of the capital and disputes the rest. United Nations.

He does not hide his face like his subordinates, and he was the first to publicly assure that the actions of the gang sought to overthrow the government.

“If Ariel Henry does not resign, if the international community continues to support Ariel Henry, they will take us straight into a civil war that will end in genocide,” Charizier told Reuters.

“We call on the Haitian National Police and Army to assume their responsibility and arrest Ariel Henry. Once again, the population is not our enemy; armed groups are not our enemy. Arrest Ariel Henry for the liberation of the country.” , They said. recently.

Barbecue also claimed responsibility for the attack on Port-au-Prince’s largest prison on Sunday, March 3, which allowed about 3,000 prisoners to escape.

Jimmy “Barbeque” Charizier and his men after an attack on a police academy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March 5, 2024. (Credit: Clarence Sifroy/AFP via Getty Images)

Where does “barbecue” charizard come from?

Little is known about the life of this former police officer, born on March 30, 1977, who became a gang leader who faced sanctions from both the United Nations and the United States Department of the Treasury.

Specifically, the United Nations has accused Charizard of violating human rights and carrying out deadly attacks against civilians, alleging that his actions “have directly contributed to the economic paralysis and humanitarian crisis in Haiti.”

While the Treasury Department has also accused him of carrying out human rights abuses and brutal attacks against civilians in Port-au-Prince since at least 2018, as the leader of the nine-gang “G9” alliance. They were approved in 2020.

In late February, photographer Gilles Clerc interviewed Cherizier in an unassuming hilltop home in the Delmas 6 neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. There, Barbecue told him that gangs were trying to change the existing system and create a new Haiti.