PORT-AU- PRINCE, Haiti (CMC) — The leader of one of the most notorious gangs in Haiti, Jimmy Chérizier, says he is prepared to cooperate with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) even after American law officials described him as a foreign terrorist in May this year.

The United States (US) Department of Justice also claimed in an indictment that Chérizier, alias “Barbecue” and a US citizen, Bazile Richardson, 48, solicited funds from the Haitian diaspora community in the US to help pay gang members and buy firearms in violation of US sanctions.

The US is offering US$5 million for information leading to the arrest of Cherizier, a former police officer, whose group, Viv Ansanm, has been accused of multiple murders, kidnappings and attacks.

But in a short video message in English, Chérizier, who heads the criminal group, says that Richardson is “innocent” and that he is ready to cooperate with the FBI, but under certain circumstances.

“My name is Jimmy Cherizier ‘Barbecue’. If the FBI wants me, I’m here. I’m willing to collaborate with them on one condition. There can be no lies told. Basil Richardson aka Fredo is innocent. He has never sent any money to me to finance anything in Haiti. Stop with all those lies, and we can collaborate. Thank you,” Cherizier says in the video.

Richardson, who was arrested in Texas earlier this year, is a naturalised US citizen who grew up in Haiti. Prosecutors claim he helped raise funds that were then used to pay gang leaders and purchase weapons.

Assistant US Attorney General John Eisenberg, said both men helped “bankroll Cherizier’s violent criminal enterprise, which is driving a security crisis in Haiti”.

Prosecutors further claim Cherizier is also suspected of playing a key role in the 2018 La Saline massacre, in which 71 people were killed, more than 400 houses were destroyed and at least seven women were raped.