Share this @internewscast.com FacebookXRedditPinterest Tune in to Dateline’s latest episode from Haiti airing on 13 May at 9.30pm AEST on SBS and SBS On Demand. Content warning: This story includes references to sexual abuse. Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier seems to have gained some weight since our last encounter. His influence has certainly grown, as has the criticism against him. Cherizier leads the Haitian gang alliance Viv Ansanm, which was labeled a terrorist group by the United States on 2 May. I’m visiting Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, to speak with him and those who are directly affected by the ongoing crisis. The United Nations reports that these gangs control at least 85 percent of the city. Francoise, 38, blames Viv Ansanm — which translates from Haitian Creole as ‘Live Together’ — for uprooting her family’s world. The mum of two young girls squats on the dirt in one of the many camps for the displaced in Haiti’s besieged capital. Over a million Haitians have been uprooted by gang violence, seeking refuge in temporary shelters. This includes Francoise and Ronald’s family, who fled with their daughters and grandmother. Source: SBS The home and Ronald’s tools destroyed, the family has set up shelter in the makeshift camp. The girls’ private school uniforms hang from a rope — neat and impeccably clean. But each day I visit, school has been cancelled due to danger. Thousands killed, over a million displaced This camp is now home to 1,600 people. There is just one shower cubicle for all the women and three toilets, only two of which are functioning. The visiting doctor estimates half the people who live here have a urinary tract infection. Gangs control 85 per cent of Port-au-Prince, and many neighbourhoods have turned into war zones, forcing ordinary citizens to flee for their safety. Source: SBS The international airport in Port-au-Prince has been closed to commercial flights for months, after the gangs shot at passenger jets, while the roads into the city are controlled by the gangs. Helicopter is our only option in. We hitch a ride with the World Food Programme chopper. But even then, we’re told to step off quickly so it can take off again. ‘I want to resolve the problem’ I meet Cherizier in Delmas 6, a poor neighbourhood a few minutes by motorbike from downtown Port-au-Prince. The former police officer, gun tucked into his trousers, casts himself as a revolutionary acting on behalf of the poor. And to my great surprise, he trots out US President Donald Trump’s signature campaign slogan: he tells me he wants to “drain the swamp”. Cherizier, a former police officer himself, has been sanctioned by the UN for serious human rights abuses. He blames Haitian police and politicians for the crisis. Source: SBS Cherizier — who has been sanctioned by the UN for serious human rights abuses — contends that it is corrupt police, corrupt politicians and the wealthy who are to blame for Haiti’s crisis. Pierre Esperance is a human rights defender who runs Haiti’s National Human Rights Defense Network, a non-governmental organisation that supports victims of violence. His life has been threatened by the gangs. Prue Lewarne interviews Cherizier in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. Source: SBS At his offices, I’m introduced to a woman who tells me how her husband was killed by the gangs. Pregnant, she fled with her nine-year-old daughter to a camp where they worry for their safety — she speaks to me anonymously. An almost-impossible fight Haiti was already stricken by violence when its last elected president . Following his death, gang violence proliferated and any order collapsed. Cherizier once led a group of gangs called G-9, which were at war with another gang, G-Pep. Last year, the two groups buried their differences and joined forces, creating Viv Ansanm, which now torments the capital. (In addition, other gangs operate outside the capital). Cherizier likens himself to US President Donald Trump, saying he, too, wants to “drain the swamp”. The US has recently designated Cherizier’s gang alliance Viv Ansanm as a terrorist organisation. Source: SBS The original target was 2,500 officers, but there are only 1,000 of them. Cherizier says he aims to see off the Kenyans. But when I ask him how many weapons are in Viv Ansanm’s arsenal, he’s evasive. In March, Haitian police conducted an operation against Cherizier in Lower Delmas, but the strongman survived the attack. As rumours swirled of his demise, Cherizier promptly issued a proof-of-life video. Longing for normal life Francoise has no idea when her family’s life might return to normal but she gets the kids ready for school every day regardless. Her husband Ronald is angry. Across Port-au-Prince and Haiti, despair grows. There’s a palpable feeling that the end is close — that at any moment, Vive Ansanm could claim the rest of the city. More than half of all Haitians are facing hunger, according to UN’s World Food Programme. Source: SBS And no one I met in Haiti had any confidence that the Kenyan-led mission would help. In the meantime, Cherizier tells me that every Sunday he likes to go to the beach. He said the same thing when we first met in 2023. In ordinary circumstances, this would be unremarkable. After all, Port-au-Prince sits beside the tantalising waters of the Caribbean. I can imagine Francoise and her family enjoying a day by the sea too. The problem is ordinary citizens can no longer get to the beach. To do so, they’d need to negotiate their way through gang territory. If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault or domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732, or visit . In an emergency, call 000.