This morning, the 15 members of the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution which sanctioned #Haiti’s most powerful gang leader, Jimmy Cherizier, alias “Barbecue.”

In today’s #CriminalThreads we explore Barbecue’s ascension to prominence and power🧵👇
The sanctions come after the former police officer blocked the entrance to Terminal Varreux, the country’s largest oil terminal, for the second time in a year. The blockade has worsened a massive fuel crisis and paralyzed the country’s economy.
bit.ly/3VNIqAs
Barbecue has been a centerpiece of Haiti’s criminal landscape for years. He was fired from Haiti’s National Police and an arrest warrant was issued for his alleged participation in the 2018 La Saline massacre, which left at least 71 people dead.
bit.ly/3TMgv25
After eluding arrest, Barbecue emerged as the leader of the G9 and Family, an alliance of least nine gangs in Port-au-Prince. He alleged G9 would restore peace in Port-au-Prince, but the alliance has instead allowed gangs to expand territorial control.
bit.ly/3sjVUXb
G9 and Barbecue have benefited from strong ties to both politicians and Haiti’s private sector, who rely on gangs to control territory and protect their businesses and interests.
Some have even been implicated in arms trafficking, helping supply gangs. bit.ly/3MPYnlz
Barbecue has taken advantage of the power vacuum left by the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, calling for a revolution and demanding the resignation of interim President Ariel Henry. bit.ly/3Tmb1LJ

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More from @InSightCrime

Oct 21
Yesterday, InSightCrime Co-director @jerrymcdermott @jerrymcdermott spoke about the importance of cracking down on #EnvironmentalCrime in the #Amazon at #COP11 #UNTOC. Below is a short recap of what was discussed 🧵👇:
@jerrymcdermott @jerrymcdermott stressed the need for the international community to do more than “give lip service, [as] the consequences of #EnvironmentalCrime are potentially far more catastrophic for the world than the abuse of illegal narcotics.”
“We must step up our due diligence [on] the sourcing of wood, gold, and other products of #EnvironmentalCrime.” Illegally logged timber, for example, is often used to make products sold legally in international markets.
Read 7 tweets
Oct 10
A shadowy timber mafia came to Guatemala in 2018 in search of precious timber when wood reserves in neighboring Mexico began to wane.

How does this logging work? We explain in today's #CriminalThread🧵👇
Step 1️⃣: Loggers enter nature reserves to find and chop down selected trees, bulldozing long stretches of forest in the process.
Step 2️⃣: The loggers transport the wood to nearby communities, where it is prepared for export in a process known as “wood laundering.”
Read 5 tweets
Oct 10
Colombo-Venezuelan Guerrillas. A Mexican governor about to face an arrest warrant. The migrant smuggling business on the US-Mexico border. Illegal loggers in Guatemala and Mexico. And a passport scandal in Uruguay.

These were the most read this week on insightcrime.org🧵
5️⃣ The head of security for Uruguay's president allegedly used his position to help Russian citizens get fake papers to claim Uruguayan citizenship.

Is Uruguay’s reputation as the « Switzerland of Latin America » at risk? bit.ly/3MeCbBb
4️⃣ InSight Crime journeyed deep into the jungle to reveal how a shadowy timber mafia with ties to Asia is illegally extracting precious wood on the #Guatemala-#Mexico border. bit.ly/3CGXZCA
Read 6 tweets
Sep 17
The Dominican Republic prides itself on drawing tourism and business. But criminals may feel welcome as well.

In today's #CriminalThreads we tell you more about the networks facilitating organized crime in the country. 🧵👇
The Port of Caucedo is one of the largest and best-connected ports in the Caribbean. This has not gone unnoticed by drug traffickers, who send cocaine to the country on its way to Europe and the United States.
Port authorities have invested in security measures to combat cocaine trafficking, but criminal networks have managed to maintain their advantage in this cat-and-mouse game. bit.ly/3TLQnVM
Read 8 tweets
Sep 16
Juan Francisco Sillas-Rocha, a lieutenant in the Tijuana Cartel who once boasted of killing 30 people a month, has been extradited to the United States eleven years after his arrest in Mexico.

In today’s #CriminalThreads, we take a look at the once-mighty Tijuana Cartel🧵👇 Image
The Tijuana Cartel, also known as the Arellano Félix Organization, controlled the vital drug trafficking border city of Tijuana in the 1990s and early 2000s. Its power has since waned. Read its history here: bit.ly/3RRs0o7
The Tijuana Cartel was built around the Arellano Félix family. In 2014, Enedina Arellano Felix took over the family’s dealings following the capture of her son, Fernando Sánchez. bit.ly/3dh9WFd
Read 5 tweets
Apr 12
In the Venezuelan mining region of Bolívar, the Tren de Guyana and the Perú Syndicate appear to be on the brink of another clash over the control of key gold mining areas in El Callao. We explain this dynamic in today’s #CriminalThreads:
Since 2018, but especially since 2020, the Perú Syndicate – a gang that extorts illegal miners and operates crude gold processing plants in southern Bolívar state -- has been weakened by repeated attacks by security forces.
In response to attacks in 2021, the gang abducted a politician and accused security forces of committing crimes. bit.ly/3Ee9UH1
Read 6 tweets

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