Haitian Gang Leader, US Citizen Charged With Violating US Sanctions on Haiti
Haitian gang leader Jimmy Cherizier and U.S. citizen Bazile Richardson have been charged with violations of U.S. sanctions on Haiti, DOJ announced. Cherizier and Richardson were charged with "leading a conspiracy to transfer funds" from the U.S. to Cherizier to "fund his gang activities in Haiti in violation" of U.S. sanctions, DOJ said.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
Cherizier remains at large, while Richardson was arrested on July 23 in Texas and made his initial court appearance in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 12.
Cherizier leads a gang known as the Revolutionary Forces of the G9 Family and Allies that formed a gang alliance, known as Viv Ansanm, to challenge the "legitimate government of Haiti," DOJ said. Cherizier was sanctioned in 2020, and the U.S. earlier this year labeled Viv Ansanm a Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (see 2505020026).
Following Cherizier's designation, he and Richardson allegedly led a "wide-ranging conspiracy with individuals in the United States, Haiti, and elsewhere to raise funds for Cherizier’s gang activities in violation of the sanctions imposed on Cherizier," DOJ said. The pair allegedly "solicited money transfers from members of the Haitian diaspora located in the United States." Cherizier supposedly used the funds to buy firearms from illegal dealers in Haiti.
The State Department is offering up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction, in any country, of Cherizier.