This is Haitian mob boss Jimmy “Barbecue” Ceresier

Some 3,700 inmates were freed Sunday from the Croix-des-Bouquets prison in Haiti in a coordinated dress-and-stab operation by criminal gangs known as the “Vivre Group.” Behind the escalation of violence is powerful mob boss Jimmy Ceresier, known as “Barbecue” or “BapeQ” – a man feared for his brutality.

The powerfully built Ceresier first got his special nickname from his mother, who sold grilled chicken on the side of the road. Today, the man, born in 1976 or 1977, continues to use his nickname – because of his penchant for burning the bodies of members of rival gangs.

Ceresier's criminal career began as a police officer in the law enforcement division patrolling the neighborhoods of the capital Port-au-Prince. In November 2017, as Inside Crime wrote, he participated in an anti-gang operation that led to the extrajudicial killing of at least nine innocent civilians in the Grand Ravine district of Port-au-Prince.

A year later, he allegedly led a group of seven gangs in a massacre in the La Saline district that killed 71 people. Due to his apparent association with criminal clans, he was dismissed from the police force. The court also issued an arrest warrant against him.

Today, the mob boss never travels unarmed or alone: ​​when he leaves his hideout in Delmas 6, he always carries a short gun and a long gun with him, and is accompanied by at least ten young soldiers. And heavily armed.

Child soldiers and police officers fight in his gang “Fòs Revolisyonè G9 an fanmi e alye” (“Revolutionary Forces of the G9 Family and Allies”, translated as G9 for short). Jimmy Ceresier has government equipment, including at least one Haitian National Police (PNH) armored vehicle.

He sees himself as a “revolutionary” and “representative of justice” who wants to change things in the country. “I'm not a gangster. I'll never be a gangster,” he told the Associated Press. “This is the system I'm fighting today. There's a lot of money in the system, they own the media. Now they're trying to make me look like a mobster.

“Infobae” reports that he is trying to convey the image of a leader who takes care of children and distributes school supplies and food. He demands respect from everyone – but Haitians only fear him.