While to most people, the word “barbecue” would evoke images of searing burgers, ice-cold beers, and midwestern dads in their natural short-short sporting elements, to those in Haiti, the term has taken on a whole new meaning, serving as the moniker of a terrifying local gang leader.


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Though Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier may have started off as a cop, his time siding on the law was short-lived. The future gang leader landing sanctions from the United Nations and the axe from Haiti’s Unité départementale de maintien d’ordre over his alleged involvement in the 2018 Port-au-Prince massacre which left 71 dead, per The Guardian.



More recently, Cherizier and his gang “G9 and Family” have found themselves in the international limelight for their involvement in the ongoing chaos in the nation’s capital, with attacks targeting government buildings with the goal of prompting Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who is currently stuck in Puerto Rico, to step down.


“I am ready to make an alliance with the devil, ready to sleep in the same bed as the devil,” Cherizier said of the ongoing violence.


Yet as the fate of Haiti remains unclear, several have taken to another element of the story — the fact that these violent outbreaks are being led by a man known as Babekyou, a nickname that he claims comes from his mother while others assert it’s from setting his victims ablaze.


“How does Haitian BBQ compare to Texas BBQ?” wrote one Twitter user, while another proposed an entire CTRLCU (cookout-themed resistance leader cinematic universe).


“TFang leader named ‘Stove-Top’ is now the most powerful man in Puerto Rico,” they joked.


We can only hope the violence quickly comes to a halt: After all, no one wants to get smoked.