Jimmy Cherizier, a former police officer and suspect of the Holocaust, initiated a revolution against the establishment during the turmoil.

One of the most powerful countries in Haiti Gang Leader This week he warned that he was launching a revolution against the country’s business and political elites, indicating that violence in this poor Caribbean country may escalate.

The surge in violence The incidents in the Haitian capital in recent weeks have reached what the United Nations calls “unprecedented levels” as rival groups or the police compete for control of the streets, causing the displacement of thousands of people and exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the country.

Jimmy Cherizier, alias Barbecue, a former police officer, leads the so-called “G9” alliance formed last year of nine gangs.

On December 7, 2019, in the courtyard of the Sun City Hall of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, after the local gang leader was murdered, a man looked out the window and people fled the violence [File: Valerie Baeriswyl/Reuters]

On Wednesday, surrounded by a group of gang members brandishing machetes and guns, he issued a statement to the local media in the Lazarin slum, saying that the G9 had become a revolutionary force that freed Haiti from the opposition, the government, and the Haitian bourgeoisie.

Human rights activists say that Cherizil is actually not against the government, but against the opposition.

The government has not commented publicly on his remarks, nor could it immediately comment.

As a suspect in many mass murders of citizens in recent years, apart from the other crimes he was sanctioned by the United States at the end of the year, Cherizil portrayed himself as a community leader, filling the void left by weak institutions.

Cherizier said his Gang members Many shops in Port-au-Prince last week triggered looting, and a wider crowd followed suit because of hunger.

He said in a wildly circulated comment on Haitian social media: “The money in banks, stores, supermarkets and dealers is yours, so go buy things that belong to you.”

In recent years, armed groups have become stronger in Haiti because political turmoil, Increasing poverty and feelings of impunity, said rights organizations such as the non-profit Human Rights Analysis and Research Center.

They said the presidential and legislative elections scheduled for later this year may have been a factor in the recent increase in gang violence linked to local politicians.

The Haitian police are unable to deal with gang members who have acquired more and more advanced weapons. Part of the funding comes from kidnapping and extortion.

According to the police, many police officers have been killed in confrontations with armed bandits in recent months. One of them was killed in the battle with Cherizier last weekend.

According to the United Nations, violence is exacerbating a country’s humanitarian crisis. Nearly half of the country’s population is facing “highly severe” food insecurity, and coronavirus infections are on the rise.

President of the Supreme Court of Haiti Died of COVID-19 On Wednesday, although the country has not yet started its vaccination campaign.

This A kind The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated earlier this month Displacement It is “causing a series of secondary problems, such as the disruption of social functions at the community level…forcing schools to close, losing their livelihoods, and general fear among the affected people.”