Free Republic

Haiti’s most notorious gang leader, Jimmy Chérizier, also known as “Barbecue,” now appears to be the most powerful man in the country. Cherizier apparently got the nickname due to his penchant for burning people alive and eating their body parts. Barbecue is spearheading the violence that has caused Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, to descend into anarchy, with his ‘G9 and Family’ gang calling for the resignation of the beleaguered Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who has not been able to return to Haiti since traveling to Guyana on February 25. The deteriorating political situation in Haiti has led to a notable increase...

<p>Two separate crimes against children in recent days have one haunting similarity: authorities have pointed to Voodoo rituals as a possible motive.</p> <p>“We are being targeted,” said Maude Evans, a Haitian native and Vodou priestess in Boston’s Mattapan neighborhood. “I’m really concerned that that’s how it’s going to be from now on. They will do things and blame it on Vodou.”</p>

Sean Penn Appointed Haitian Ambassador LOS ANGELES, USA (defend.ht) - Sean Penn has accepted the job of Ambassador for Haiti, where he has spent the last two years managing a tent camp for displaced Haitians after the earthquake. Sean Penn will now be the "ambassador at large" for the Caribbean nation. Penn was offered the position by Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Laurent Lamothe, while at the Cinema for Peace benefit in Los Angeles on Saturday night. Picking up a humanitarian award for his work in Haiti, he told the crowd: "I do accept [the job]," before adding it would...

The catastrophe has driven a wedge between Haiti's religions as Christian groups make inroads among shaken Voodoo followers - some drawn by the steady flow of aid through evangelical missions and others frightened by a disaster they saw as a warning from God. "People see rice being distributed in front of churches and those homeless now needing papers are being offered baptism certificates that can act as identity documents," Voodoo priest Max Beauvoir told The Associated Press before speaking at Friday's service. "The horrible thing though is that by rejecting Voodoo these people are rejecting their ancestors and history. Voodoo...