[1] As a minority with a position of relative power in the Haitian economy, they have faced ethnic discrimination, notably encouraged by gang leader Jimmy Chérizier.
[6] After the assassination of Jovenel Moïse in 2021, former police officer and gang leader Jimmy Chérizier, who described the event as an "international conspiracy", called on his followers to engage in violence against the "masters of the system".
This included business owners of Syrian and Lebanese descent, whom Chérizier urged to leave the country, stating that supermarkets should by owned by "folks who looks [sic] like us".
[7] In a 2023 interview with Jon Lee Anderson, Chérizier further blamed "the Lebanese" for Haiti's problems, describing them as "oligarchs" who kept Black Haitians from having the same wealth and opportunities.
[8] A 2022 report by the US Department of State made note of the ethnic discrimination faced by the relatively economically powerful Syrian-Lebanese community.