PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti: Powerful gang leader Jimmy Cherizier, a former police officer, has announced that he is lifting a blockade at a key fuel terminal, which has strangled Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, for nearly two months.
The announcement came after the country’s government claimed success in its efforts to reclaim the terminal, as well as following a United Nations resolution targeting Cherizier with sanctions.
In a speech posted on social media, Cherizier called upon truck drivers to return and fill their tanks.
“Drivers can come to the terminal without any fear,” he wrote.
The crisis began on 12th September when Cherizier’s G9 gang seized control of the area surrounding the fuel depot to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
The gang’s blockade cut off access to about 10 millions gallons of diesel fuel and gasoline, and more than 800,000 gallons of kerosene, hindering efforts to cope with a deadly cholera outbreak.
This week, police social media accounts posted a video with no sound, stating officers were still “busy” at the terminal and saying “an important provision is taken to secure the perimeters.”
But in his own statement, Cherizier said, “This is a fight for a better life. The situation has worsened. We are not responsible for what happened to the country.”
Haiti’s National Police and the office of the prime minister have not responded to Cherizier’s announcement.
