Today, the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs is announcing a reward offer under the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program (TOCRP) of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction, in any country, of Haitian gang leader Jimmy Cherizier, a.k.a. "Barbecue."
Cherizier is the leader of Viv Ansanm, which was designated by the Secretary of State on May 2, 2025, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), and is a central figure responsible for gang violence in Haiti. Notorious for his total disregard of human dignity, Cherizier is directly involved in the mass murder and rape of Haitian civilians.
In December 2020, Cherizier and two Haitian public officials were designated for sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (Global Magnitsky) for their roles in the La Saline massacre and severe human rights abuses in Haiti.
Today's reward offer complements the Department of Justice's unsealing of the indictment of Cherizier in the District of Columbia, charging him with one count of conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Cherizier avoided sanctions placed on him in 2020 under the Global Magnitsky Act. His co-defendant, Brazile Richardson, also made his initial court appearance today in Washington, D.C.
Today's reward offer is authorized by the Secretary under the TOCRP
