Contacted by AyiboPost, a spokesperson for the media outlet described the incident as an « error in judgment »
Two Reuters journalists, Adrees Latif and Sarah Kinosian, are facing criticism after a video, filmed on Saturday, shows gifts—including balaclavas, bottles of alcohol, and several packs of cigarettes— offered to Haitian gang leader Jimmy « Barbecue » Cherizier.
Cherizier himself posted the video, and AyiboPost confirms, through four independent sources familiar with the situation or directly involved, that the journalists indeed brought him these gifts.
After the clip was released, the journalists fled Haiti out of fear for their safety. When contacted for comment, they referred AyiboPost to Reuters’ press office.
A spokesperson for the media outlet told AyiboPost : « Reuters has a strict code of conduct to which all of its journalists must adhere. This was an error in judgement. We are investigating and will take appropriate next steps. »
AyiboPost does not know which of the two journalists purchased the gifts or if Reuters funds were used.
Jimmy Cherizier, nicknamed « Barbecue, » is a former police officer who became one of Haiti’s most influential gang leaders. He heads the criminal federation G9 an Fanmi, a gang coalition accused of atrocities against the Haitian population.
Due to his involvement in criminal activities, Cherizier is under international sanctions, including by the United Nations, which accuses him of human rights violations and contributing to the destabilization of the country.
« These gifts are absolutely inappropriate from an ethical, professional, and even legal standpoint, » Yvens Rumbold, a communication expert who has written several reports on media in Haiti, told AyiboPost.
Read also: A gang leader paid for the funeral of a murdered journalist in Haiti
Human rights organizations are also expressing outrage. « I find this shocking, » Samuel Madistin, a lawyer and head of Fondasyon Je Klere, told AyiboPost.
« The fact that these journalists brought gifts to Barbecue shows disregard for the memory of the people killed by the gangs, » Madistin continued. « It’s a slap in the face to the women raped, the people kidnapped, and those tortured by the armed groups. »
Journalists can offer low-value items in their dealings with sources and subjects of their work. Reuters’ internal rules limit such gifts to $100, equivalent to the average monthly salary of a housekeeper in Haiti.
However, the balaclavas provided could allow Cherizier to conceal his face during his criminal activities, raising ethical concerns.
« These gifts signal acceptance, if not complicity, with the actions of the criminals, » Pierre Espérance, executive director of the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH), told AyiboPost.
« By offering their support in this way, the journalists are actually reinforcing criminal activities, » Espérance added.
« These gifts are absolutely inappropriate from an ethical, professional, and even legal standpoint »
– Yvens Rumbold
Adrees Latif is a Pakistani-American photojournalist and editor with over three decades of experience. He has worked for Reuters since 1995 and has won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news photography in 2008 and 2019.
Sarah Kinosian is an investigative journalist with deep expertise in security, human rights, and U.S. policy, particularly in Central America.
A colleague, admiring her courage, said, « Sarah is a very enterprising, adventurous, and energetic young journalist. »
However, the same source expressed concerns about the duo’s actions in Haiti.
« We often have to use various methods to gain the trust of sources, but giving these gifts is totally unacceptable, » the source told AyiboPost. « It’s so inappropriate that I can’t believe they were so reckless and irresponsible. »
The controversy surrounding the actions of the Reuters journalists comes amid a growing number of attacks and threats against journalists in Haiti.
At least six journalists in the country have been killed since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021, according to figures from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Haiti ranks third on the CPJ’s 2023 Global Impunity Index, which assesses the countries where killers of journalists are most likely to go unpunished.
The video posted by Barbecue adds fuel to accusations of collusion between Haitian gangs and both local and international press.
According to a journalist briefly detained and pressured by Cherizier in 2021 over unflattering reports in a major American media outlet, Barbecue’s video on the Reuters journalists reinforces allegations of press and gang collusion.
Four other colleagues contacted by AyiboPost expressed similar concerns.
« Foreign Reuters journalists will go back home, but their actions make our work here even more difficult, » said the journalist mentioned earlier. He recounted being searched by police in July in Port-au-Prince « as if I were a thief. »
« The officers told me it’s journalists who bring guns and other materials to the bandits, » the journalist added.
Dozens of foreign journalists have been arriving in Haiti regularly since at least 2021. Many insist on meeting Cherizier and other gang leaders.
Foreign Reuters journalists will go back home, but their actions make our work here even more difficult
Some of their reports face local criticism but fuel an industry of professionals specializing in access to gangs.
Typically, foreign journalists pay a local fixer who negotiates with the gang members, according to two professionals familiar with the practice. They requested anonymity for security reasons.
Some interviews cost $2,000 to $3,000, to be shared between the gangs and the fixer, a professional knowledgeable about the practice told AyiboPost. « The foreign journalists can then say they didn’t pay for the information but for the fixer, » he said.
Another journalist with decades of experience mentioned negotiated access costing between $500 and up to $10,000. He said he stopped going into the ghettos because of the closeness of some local fixers to gang leaders.
« In the past, presenting an international media badge was a guarantee of protection with the police, » the journalist said. « That’s no longer the case because many of these media outlets are now seen as allies of the gangs. This Barbecue video puts us in even greater danger. »
The narrative reported by some international media also faces criticism. According to Espérance of RNDDH, most foreign journalists sent to Haiti are not interested in the harm caused by the gangs.
« They give them publicity, » Espérance continued. « They portray terrorists as heroes. That’s why we have to wonder if they benefit from the gangs’ activities. »
Haitian experts are also sounding the alarm on what some call sensational journalism.
« There are two categories of journalists: those who, ill-informed, don’t know enough about the facts or haven’t followed the development of the radicalization of these gang members, and those who fall for the bandits’ narrative, » analyzed communication expert Yvens Rumbold.
This lack of expertise is widely debated in Haiti. « If we stick to the facts, it’s clear that these journalists do not respect either ethics or journalistic standards. They wouldn’t handle the subject the same way if it were in their own country, » Rumbold stated.
In a second video posted on social media, Cherizier defends the journalists who come to interview him. He criticizes the Central Directorate of Judicial Police, which had, in August, apprehended two Haitian journalists for gang collusion and dares them to arrest the « white » Reuters journalists.
« It’s the weekend, » Cherizier continues. « I drink my alcohol, live my life, and wait for my death, all while killing others. »
Cover Image: Barbecue and Adrees Latif on the gang leader’s TikTok page. Edited by: Riquemi Perez for AyiboPost.
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