Haiti's Gangs Are Moving Into Politics: What It Means for the Caribbean Nation's Future

Gang leader Barbecue announces political party plans. Some Haitian elites open to negotiations as gangs killed 5,600+ in 2024.

Simon Whistler February 17, 2026

In the normal course of things, a former police officer announcing he’s launching a political party would barely be worth a two-line item on the news. But then, most former police officers aren’t Jimmy Chérizier—a Haitian gang leader and warlord better known by his alias ‘Barbecue.’ On January 1st this year, Chérizier announced that the gang coalition he leads, Viv Ansanm, was going to become a political party. This wasn’t a declaration of disarmament or a commitment to the ballot box, but rather something much bigger: a desire by Barbecue to force his way into Haiti’s ruling class. For anyone with even the slightest knowledge of Haiti’s situation, such a concept likely sounds like parody, yet the reaction from some of Haiti’s elites suggests this unprecedented development may reshape the Caribbean nation’s political landscape in ways that could redefine the very nature of the crisis engulfing it.

Key Takeaways

Jimmy Chérizier, known as ‘Barbecue,’ announced on January 1, 2025 that his gang coalition Viv Ansanm would become a political party, signaling an attempt to force his way into Haiti’s ruling class rather than disarm.

Some Haitian elites, including PHTK party leader Liné Balthazar of the Transitional Presidential Council, have indicated openness to negotiations and potential alliances with gang leaders ahead of early-2026 elections.

Haiti’s gangs killed over 5,600 people in 2024, equivalent to a homicide rate of almost 48 per 100,000 inhabitants—a national record that exceeds Ecuador’s threshold for declaring internal armed conflict.

The nine-member Transitional Presidential Council, established in April 2024, has been paralyzed by corruption scandals, including an attempted $758,000 extortion by three members, and infighting that has prevented it from fulfilling its mandate.

The Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support mission has deployed only 800 of a planned 2,500 officers, faces a $500 million funding shortfall, and has failed to significantly reduce gang control of territory.

Gang incorporation into political structures could redefine Haiti’s crisis from a descent into anarchy to a civil war in which insurgents forced a favorable settlement, though the fragmented criminal landscape makes comprehensive peace unlikely.

The Humanitarian Crisis Behind the Political Gambit

Viv Ansanm is among the most brutal of the armed groups that have paralyzed the Caribbean nation, collapsing its government last March and effectively placing most of the capital, Port-au-Prince, under a state of occupation. This occupation has triggered one of the western hemisphere’s worst humanitarian crises. Last year, Haiti’s gangs killed over 5,600 people, equivalent to an annual homicide rate of almost 48 per 100,000 inhabitants—a national record, according to the Small Wars Journal.

To put that in perspective, a murder rate of 45 per 100,000 was enough for Ecuador last year to declare itself in a state of ‘internal armed conflict.’ Not only has Haiti exceeded that grim milestone, but it has also seen over a million of its citizens displaced by violence. So bad has the anarchy gotten that the UK’s deputy permanent representative to the U.N., James Kariuki, recently noted that at least one Haitian was killed, kidnapped or injured every hour as a result of gang violence in 2024.

As the leader of Viv Ansanm, Chérizier has been a key driver of these horrors. The scale of suffering makes the reaction to his political ambitions all the more remarkable—and disturbing.

Elite Openness to Gang Political Participation

Rather than a united show of defiance, some of Haiti’s elites seemed cautiously OK with gangs entering the political sphere. On January 10th, PHTK party leader—and member of Haiti’s nine-member Transitional Presidential Council—Liné Balthazar, went on Magik 9 radio, where he suggested the council was in active negotiations with Viv Ansanm. As Insight Crime writes, Balthazar implied that Viv Ansanm is involved in discussions over the council’s future alongside major political players.

Balthazar also suggested his party was open to an alliance with the gangs ahead of Haiti’s next elections, which should take place in early-2026. Defending his views, he claimed: ‘We must stop this hypocrisy. There is a phenomenon of illegal armed groups in the country, and we must, as adults and pragmatists, solve this problem.’

This statement caused significant backlash. Although Chérizier has long tried to paint himself as a political figure—often comparing himself to Che Guevara and declaring he’s leading a ‘revolution’—most of Haitian society sees Barbecue as a mass-murderer responsible for untold suffering. Speaking to the Miami Herald, a lawyer for the December 21 Agreement movement—also represented on the Transitional Council—declared of Viv Ansanm: ‘There is no place at the negotiating table. They are criminals and should be destroyed.’

Others pointed to the known connections between the PHTK party and Haiti’s armed groups to explain away Balthazar’s bizarre statement. Yet, for all the rage, it seems clear that at least some of the elites are already preparing for gangs to become recognized political players. A recent proposal submitted by several key parties to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) for reforming the Transitional Council even included a mention of which reform would be most acceptable to Viv Ansanm.

An Unprecedented Development in Gang Politics

The prospect of gang leaders determining Haiti’s political future raises fascinating and disturbing questions. Even in the annals of gang and cartel crime, such an outcome would be unusual. For all the damage they’ve done—and all the politicians and judges they’ve corrupted—gangs in Ecuador and Mexico are a long way from helping decide the very shape of government.

The cynical retort would be that, in Haiti’s case, gangs are already doing a lot of the governing. As the Global Initiative NGO wrote in a recent report, so much of Port-au-Prince is now a no-go zone to the Haitian state that gang leaders operate as judges and advisors in their fiefdoms, settling disputes and conflicts, and enforcing law and order.

Seen through the lens of realpolitik, acknowledging that Viv Ansanm and others will play a role in Haiti’s future is simply working with the reality on the ground. A reality the Haitian state is too weak and corrupted to change, even with outside backing. Hence why many Caribbean leaders who helped set up the Transitional Presidential Council last year argued for including guys like Barbecue—an idea that was vetoed by the United States and France.

The Failure of Haiti’s Transitional Council

The counterargument is that there has been nothing inevitable about Haiti’s increasing slide into chaos. Instead of being due to the strength of the gangs, blame can instead be laid at an elite so corrupt they’d make the fabled DC swamp look like a sun dappled oasis.

When the US and CARICOM helped set the Transitional Council up in April 2024, its tasks were clear: prepare for much-delayed elections while also supporting the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support mission designed to defeat the gangs. Instead, the nine-member Council spent the intervening months getting in a fight with the interim prime minister, and lining their own pockets.

According to the Miami Herald, three of the Council’s members used their newfound positions to try and extort $758,000 from the chairman of the National Bank of Credit. When confronted by the country’s Anti-Corruption Unit, the three refused to resign, or answer the summons of a judge. The result has been a Council too paralyzed by infighting to get any work done, and a corruption case that has dynamited its legitimacy in the eyes of most Haitians.

The Struggling International Intervention

At the same time, the Kenyan-led mission has failed to make much of a dent in the gangs’ hold on territory. Initially meant to comprise 2,500 officers, the intervention still boasts only about 800 men, after many countries that pledged assistance failed to follow through on their promises. It is also chronically underfunded, with a shortfall of maybe $500 million, and equipment that often breaks down and isn’t designed for urban combat.

Again, this wasn’t inevitable. It’s entirely possible that in some parallel universe where the intervention deployed in force and the Transitional Council acted in the public interest, we’re starting 2025 with Haiti slowly regaining some security and stability. Sadly, that isn’t our universe. And in our universe, the failures of the Council and policing mission have created a scenario in which elites are openly discussing an accommodation with the gangs to halt the violence.

Recent Massacres and Escalating Violence

The last few months have seen a number of massacres in Haiti that are shocking even by the gangs’ standards. There was the October attack on Pont-Sondé by the Gran Grif armed group, which was angry at locals for defying it—an attack that cost maybe 115 lives. Then there was the December slaughter of elderly voodoo practitioners ordered by a gang leader who believed they’d caused his child to get sick. In that case, over 200 people were murdered, dismembered, and their remains dumped in the ocean.

The appalling attacks extend to infrastructure as well, such as the sacking and burning of the Bernard Mevs critical care hospital, and the destruction of agricultural land in Artibonite that has helped push millions to the brink of starvation. The expanding gang recruitment of children represents another disturbing trend; a recruitment drive that recently led UNICEF to estimate that children make up half of all Haitian gang members.

Will Gang Political Integration Bring Stability?

The real question is not what the gangs have already done, but whether incorporating leaders like Barbecue into Haiti’s political structures will help bring about stability. Honestly, it’s hard to say. While you can imagine individual gang leaders offering peace for power, Haiti’s criminal landscape is so fragmented that it’s hard to see how you could get them all to come onboard. And powerful as Viv Ansanm is, it’s hardly the only armed group with the strength to paralyze the country.

What seems more likely is a codifying of the parasitic relationship that already existed between Haiti’s elites and the armed groups they clandestinely funded. Making official what was once strictly kept to the shadows.

Redefining the Nature of Haiti’s Crisis

Make no mistake, if Haiti’s gangs are able to turn themselves into legitimate political players, it would redefine what has happened in this Caribbean nation over the last few years. Rather than a descent into anarchy, the violence might come to be viewed more as a civil war. One in which the insurgents were able to force a settlement that was favorable to themselves.

Regardless of the outcome, one thing is for sure. Whether the gangsters join state structures or not, the suffering of ordinary Haitians seems destined to continue. Betrayed by their own political class and preyed upon by criminals, the country’s civilians may now be forced to witness those responsible for their pain be rewarded for all the destruction they’ve caused.

FAQ

Who is Jimmy Chérizier and what did he announce?

Jimmy Chérizier, better known by his alias ‘Barbecue,’ is a former police officer who became a Haitian gang leader and warlord. On January 1, 2025, he announced that Viv Ansanm, the gang coalition he leads, would become a political party. This was not a declaration of disarmament but rather an attempt to force his way into Haiti’s ruling class.

How severe is the violence in Haiti?

Haiti’s gangs killed over 5,600 people in 2024, equivalent to an annual homicide rate of almost 48 per 100,000 inhabitants—a national record. This exceeds the 45 per 100,000 threshold that led Ecuador to declare itself in a state of ‘internal armed conflict.’ Over a million Haitians have been displaced by violence, and the UK’s deputy permanent representative to the UN noted that at least one Haitian was killed, kidnapped, or injured every hour in 2024.

How have Haitian elites responded to gangs entering politics?

The response has been divided. On January 10, 2025, PHTK party leader Liné Balthazar, a member of the Transitional Presidential Council, suggested the council was in active negotiations with Viv Ansanm and indicated openness to an alliance ahead of early-2026 elections. However, others, including a lawyer for the December 21 Agreement movement, strongly opposed this, stating there is no place at the negotiating table for criminals who should be destroyed.

What is the Transitional Presidential Council and why has it failed?

The Transitional Presidential Council is a nine-member body established in April 2024 by the US and CARICOM to prepare for elections and support the Kenyan-led security mission. It has failed due to corruption and infighting. Three members attempted to extort $758,000 from the chairman of the National Bank of Credit and refused to resign or answer a judge’s summons when confronted by the Anti-Corruption Unit. This has paralyzed the Council and destroyed its legitimacy.

What is the status of the international security mission in Haiti?

The Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support mission has significantly underperformed. Initially meant to comprise 2,500 officers, it has deployed only about 800 men after many countries failed to follow through on their pledges. The mission faces a funding shortfall of approximately $500 million and has equipment that often breaks down and isn’t designed for urban combat. It has failed to make much of a dent in gang control of territory.

How do gangs currently function in areas they control?

According to the Global Initiative NGO, so much of Port-au-Prince is now a no-go zone for the Haitian state that gang leaders operate as judges and advisors in their fiefdoms, settling disputes and conflicts, and enforcing law and order. This means gangs are already performing some governmental functions in the territories they control.

What recent massacres have occurred in Haiti?

Recent massacres include the October 2024 attack on Pont-Sondé by the Gran Grif armed group, which killed approximately 115 people who had defied the gang. In December 2024, a gang leader ordered the slaughter of over 200 elderly voodoo practitioners because he believed they had caused his child to get sick; victims were murdered, dismembered, and their remains dumped in the ocean.

Would incorporating gangs into politics bring stability to Haiti?

It’s uncertain. While individual gang leaders might offer peace in exchange for power, Haiti’s criminal landscape is so fragmented that it’s difficult to see how all armed groups could be brought onboard. Viv Ansanm is not the only group with the strength to paralyze the country. What seems more likely is a codifying of the parasitic relationship that already existed between Haiti’s elites and the armed groups they clandestinely funded, making official what was once kept in the shadows.