G9 Alliance Threatens to Unleash a Civil War in Haiti

On Tuesday, Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier, the leader of the G9 Alliance, threatened to unleash a civil war unless Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigns.

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Former police officer Cherizier is the head of the "Revolutionary Forces of the G9 Family and Allies" (FRG9), which brings together a dozen armed gangs based in Port-au-Prince. Formed in 2020, the FRG9 is one of about 95 groups vying for control of the territories in the capital city.

Over the last week, this alliance of urban armed gangs led attacks on police stations and a prison raid while Henry was visiting Kenya, where he hoped to gain concrete support for the establishment of a multinational police mission to quell violence in the Caribbean country.

The Haitian prime minister was expected to return to his country this week. However, this did not happen due to the possibility of the G9 Alliance and other armed groups taking over the Toussaint Louverture International Airport.

“Amidst public outcry, Henry remains silent, retweeting a state of emergency declaration. His location, unknown for days, was revealed in Puerto Rico,” Rongo News reported.

The text reads, "Haiti: Gang coalition is gaining more and more control over 'the lost territories.' Listening closely to Jimmy 'Barbecue' Cherisier, one infers that he and his clique have every intention of presenting a position of strength at the negotiating table when the time is right."

Meanwhile, Haiti remains plunged in uncertainty following a new wave of violence, which spiraled to higher levels on Saturday when two major prisons came under attack.

On Monday, police and military forces were locked in a fierce gun battle with heavily armed gangs attempting to take control of the Toussaint airport, which was shut down when gangs overran the terminal, sending employees running for cover amid the exchange of gunfire.

In the absence of Henry, who was serving as acting prime minister since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021, interim Prime Minister Michel Patrick Boisvert decided to declare a "State of Emergency" to regain control of Port-au-Prince.

The situation in the Caribbean country has forced a significant number of Haitians to abandon their homes. According to the United Nations data, more than 300,000 people are internally displaced in Haiti, while more than 5.5 million people, nearly half of the country's population, are in need of humanitarian assistance.