Haiti’s most dreaded gang leader Jimmy Cherizier, alias Barbecue, has vowed to fight the Kenya police officers deployed in the Caribbean nation to the death.
In a viral video shared on Wednesday, June 26, the gang leader could be heard rallying his members, urging them to fire on the Kenyan contingent who were manning the streets of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital.
Barbecue termed the Kenyan police as invaders and said he was ready to die for the liberation of the Carribean nation.
"I don't care if they are white or black. If they're not Haitian and they're on Haitian soil, they're invaders," Barbecue stated.
The gang leader went ahead to clarify his recent remarks calling for peace talks following the arrival of the multinational peacekeepers.
During an interview with Al Jazeera, Barbecue dismissed claims of retreating from the battles, urging people not to confuse his call for talks to a surrender.
“It's a bloodbath, It's a fight for the country, and I will fight for it even if I die I am sure there will be successors and there will be other people who will continue with this fight,” Barbecue stated.
“Many people think I am afraid and that we are asking for forgiveness but even as a military officer you should ask for dialogue.”
The gang leader's sentiments come a day after Haiti Prime Minister Garry Conille urged the gang leader to first lay down his arms if he wanted to hold talks with the government.
In a press briefing, Conille insisted that dialogue could only take place if the gang leader stopped engaging in illegal activities.
“Lay down your arms, recognize the authority of the State before any other arrangement," Garry Conille told Barbecue.
Barbecue had initially warned that as long as his team, the Viv Ansanm Coalition, was not invited to the negotiating table, the country would not know peace.
