Chaos & Cannibalism: Haiti Dumpster Fire Reaches New Levels of Mayhem
I’ve been seeing some disturbing reports coming through my newsfeed this morning. Specifically, video footage of a Haitian gang leader allegedly eating human flesh.
What the fuck is going on in Haiti?
We know things are bad. We know the shit hit the fan last week when armed gangs stormed two prisons and released hundreds of prisoners.
Then they targeted the country's international airport and national soccer stadium.
But this is surreal.
The footage appears to show a gang member chewing on a human finger then pulling more flesh off a human leg roasting in a fire.
Some reports allege that the mobster in the video is Jimmy Chérizier, aka “Barbecue,” leader of the notorious “G9 and Family” gang.
Jimmy Chérizier is currently the de facto Most Powerful Man in Haiti, as Prime Minister Ariel Henry took a powder last month and fled to Puerto Rico.
Rumor has it that the 47-year-old Chérizier got his moniker from a nasty habit of setting his enemies on fire. The mobster denies such allegations, saying that his mother bestowed him the pet name.
While his gang destroyed police stations last week, Barbecue told his supporters, “I am ready to make an alliance with the devil, ready to sleep in the same bed as the devil.”
Is this Chérizier making good on his promise? By partaking in some heinous Satanic ritual that requires one to imbibe human flesh?
What of the video in question? It has yet to be verified by any news agency but Times Now spoke to journalists who said the video is real though not related to the current crisis and does not involve Jimmy Chérizier.
It does however show other Haitian gangsters engaging in cannibalism though from over 2 years ago. Specifically from a battle between the "Ti Mepri" and "Gran Grif" gangs in Artibonite Valley in Haiti.
Either way, the situation is off the hook.
And social media is having a field day.
Over 1,1190 people have been killed in Haiti since the start of 2024. A U.N. human rights official stated the situation was "beyond untenable."
This mind you, in a country less than 700 miles from the beaches of Florida. Concerns are cropping up on social media that this could impact an already dire border crisis in the U.S.A.
Things really started going down the toilet on February 29 when Prime Minister Ariel Henry flew to Kenya to scrounge U.N. police back-up to fight the gangs. He was unsuccessful.
That's when Jimmy "Barbecue" Cherizier made his power grab, unleashing his gangs and all kinds of mayhem on Haiti.
On March 5, the gang leader announced "if the international community continues to support him (Ariel Henry), we'll be heading straight for a civil war that will lead to genocide."
This past Sunday, American troops landed in Haiti to evacuate Americans from the US Embassy in Port-au-Prince and secure the diplomatic compound.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield commented that the Biden administration asked Henry to "move forward on a political process that will lead to the establishment of a presidential transitional council that will lead to elections."
Ariel Henry was appointed to the position of Prime Minister on the heals of the assassination of President Jovenel Poise in July 2021.
He had pledged to step down in February of 2024 but has since stated that he needs to stay in power to ensure a free election in 2025.
The situation in Haiti is somewhat akin to the movie The Warriors which is a fictional depiction of a New York City run by gangs.
According to the U.N. there are about 200 gangs operating in Haiti with 23 running the city of Port-au-Prince. They control about 80% of the gross capital income.
This past weekend, guards from the National Palace with police launched a counter attack in an effort to retake a police station in downtown Port-au-Prince. With an armored vehicle, they managed to set up a perimeter around the station.
A state of emergency has been extended and a nightly curfew is in place.
One man told the AP on Friday that “They (the gangs) came with big guns. We have no guns and we cannot defend ourselves. All of us, the children are suffering.”
If the authorities are unable to wrest control from the gangs, a number of scenarios are possible - non of which are too appetizing.
The outspoken leftist leader Jean-Charles Moïse could make a bid. He's a former senator and presidential candidate with a flair for theatrics.
His penchant is for riding horses in protest marches whilst his supporters wave the Russian flag and the black and red flag of former President-for-life Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier.
Baby Doc? That must be like a flashback whiplash for some. It is of course the nickname for the former President of Haiti who succeeded his dictator father in 1971. He immediately killed and tortured thousands of Haitians, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee the island nation.
During his reign, Haiti achieved the dubious status of being the most poverty stricken country in the western hemisphere. Nonetheless, Baby Doc lived like a boss king, spending $2 million on his wedding in 1980.
During a rebellion in 1986, Duvalier hightailed it to France on a U.S. Air Force flight. The dictator was tight with Ronald Reagan as it were. He hunkered there for over a couple decades only to return to Haiti in 2011 when he was charged and jailed on corruption and human rights abuse. He died in 2014 from a heart attack.
Another player in the hunt for power is Durin Duret, Jr. He is a judge on Haiti’s Court of Appeals and surprisingly, he was the lead investigator into former President Baby Doc back in 2014.
However, in 2021, he was called out by lawyers and human-rights activists for denying justice to victims of Duvalier's regime. As well, he failed to submit his reports to the Court of Appeals on the crimes committed by the former dictator.
On Monday, March 11, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Caribbean leaders in Jamaica to discuss the raging dumpster fire that is Haiti. It was a closed-door meeting and Blinken is yet to respond.
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Andrew Kim Arnett is a writer, researcher and producer. He has been published in Paranoia Magazine, New Dawn, Nexus, Konbini and Alien Buddha Press. He lives in Brooklyn, NY and hunts ghosts with the Brooklyn Paranormal Society. Find him on Twitter: @AndrewArnett