Haiti drone operation strikes home of gang leader ‘Barbecue’Haitian security forces on Wednesday bombed three houses belonging to top gang leader Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier, local outlet Gazette Haiti reported on Wednesday, after unverified footage showed a large explosion in the capital Port-au-Prince. Hours earlier, Haiti’s National Police said it was carrying out an operation targeting the house of gang leader Cherizier in Port-au-Prince’s Delmas 6 neighborhood, a longtime stronghold for armed groups working under Cherizier. The company Vectus Global, run by Blackwater founder Erik Prince, has been supporting Haiti’s government with the drone operations since early last year. The gang leader, accused of a wide range of crimes including ordering several massacres around the capital, has branded himself as an anti-elite revolutionary and sought to transform Viv Ansanm into a political party. The operation comes several weeks ahead of the February 7 deadline for the current transitional government’s mandate to end.

Source: Daily Nation January 15, 2026 14:11 UTC