By Roberson Alphonse, Le Nouvelliste, August 5, 2025
Richardson Bazile, a Haitian-American living in North Carolina who describes himself as a "close friend of Jimmy Cherizier aka Barbecue," was charged with violating 50 US.C. 1705 (International Emergency Power Act) after making numerous money transfers to gangs between 2020 and 2025.
The indictment names Cherizier as a co-conspirator alongside five Haitian co-conspirators and two other naturalized Haitian Americans in addition to Richardson Bazile. The names of these individuals were not cited in the indictment reviewed by Le Nouvelliste .
Upon submission of evidence to a grand jury sworn in on March 13, the District Court for the District of Columbia unsealed the indictment of Richardson Bazile, known as "Fredo Pam," "Fred Lion," "Leo Danger," "Lepè Blòdè," and Fredo Richardson, for conspiracy to violate 50 U.S.C. 1705 (International Emergency Power Act).
Mr. Bazile, a naturalized U.S. Haitian national living in Fayetteville, North Carolina, is accused of leading a broad conspiracy with individuals living in Haiti, the U.S., and elsewhere to "raise funds for gang activities in Haiti, in violation of U.S. sanctions. In particular, another unnamed co-conspirator or accomplice and Richardson solicited money transfers from Haitians in the diaspora."
The other unnamed co-conspirator used the funds primarily to pay gang members' salaries and acquire weapons from irregular arms dealers," the indictment read, citing examples of the money transfers.
According to the indictment, Richardson Bazile, in a voice note sent on September 7, 2024, to an unnamed co-conspirator, indicated that it was unfortunate that he was not in Haiti to participate in the fighting and promised to do everything financially to provide the co-conspirator in question to acquire "heavy weapons to win the battle." The indictment did not name all of the "defendants and co-conspirators."
Richardson Bazile said in a July 31, 2022, voice note cited in the indictment that “the head of the G-9 is a close friend of mine. I grew up with Barbecue. In fact, I spoke to him this morning. People can’t intimidate me because I live in the United States and I’m not conspiring against the United States. Fuck you, USA. I’m defending my country, Haiti, which the American embassy is destroying”.
"Two things await me. Prison or death. Fuck you, USA, fuck you, US Embassy!" he added. While the indictment did not name Jimmy Cherizier, references are clearly shared in the list of defendants and co-conspirators or accomplices. He is described as a resident of Haiti, a former police officer, and a spokesperson and leader of Viv Ansanm.
There are five co-conspirators of Haitian nationality and two Haitian naturalized Americans in addition to Richardson Bazile. These two other suspects reside in the states of New York and Massachusetts, respectively. The presentation of evidence to a grand jury in March 2025 suggests that the investigation was ongoing before Viv Ansanm 's designation as a terrorist organization on May 2, 2025.
The US Department of Justice is preparing to announce investigations and warns that those who send money and weapons from the US to the terrorist organizations Viv ansanm and Gran Grif will be hunted down and arrested, a US official said on Monday, May 5, 2025.
In a post on X, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said: "The State Department has designated the violent gangs destabilizing Haiti as foreign terrorist organizations. I spoke yesterday with my counterpart at the Department of Justice, who will soon announce major investigations into these activities. Bottom line: If you send money and/or weapons to Haitian gangs from the United States, we will come after you. We will not allow you to destabilize Haiti from our country”.
The Justice Department's involvement in this case could represent a step forward in the announced crackdown on these gangs. The leaders of these gangs, Jimmy Chérizier and Luckson Élan, have already been sanctioned by the United States and the United Nations. However, this does not prevent those involved from continuing their criminal and terrorist acts against the civilian population.
Posted August 30, 2025