A prominent gang boss in Haiti has sent a menacing message to political figures who are considering joining the country’s transition council, which is now in formation. The country has been rocked by increasing levels of violence in recent weeks.
The capital Port-au-Prince has been quieter since unpopular Prime Minister Ariel Henry said on Monday that he would resign once the council was in place, but local media sources indicate that a fire broke out at the prison’s main building on Thursday morning.
Footage showed the facility, where armed men had released the inmates earlier this month, spewing heavy black smoke. It was not immediately clear what caused the fire or whether any inmates were still housed in the jail.
The highly armed gangs have tightened their hold on the capital, and the Caribbean nation is trying to find a solution to a protracted political and social crisis that has forced thousands of people to flee their homes.
Jimmy “Barbeque” Cherizier, the leader of the gang coalition, made the remarks on Wednesday. They were disseminated via a long, 7-minute audio clip that was uploaded on the messaging app WhatsApp.
“Are you not ashamed?” Cherizier asked, glaring at the politicians he claimed were interested in joining the council. “You have brought the nation to its current state. You’re not aware of what’s going to happen,” he said.
He reportedly threatened their families, saying, “I’ll know if your kids are in Haiti, if your women are in Haiti, if your husbands are in Haiti.” “If you’re going to run the country all your family ought to be there.”
In his remarks, Cherizier said the resignation of Henry was only “a first step in the battle.”
The political parties and various social groups that will comprise the nine-member transition committee, which will succeed the unelected Henry, have been listed by the regional body CARICOM. Official selections have not yet been made, but Caribbean leaders and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken mediated negotiations over the council.
(Reuters)
