Federal prosecutors in the U.S. have charged the leader of a notoriously violent Haitian gang with conspiracy to commit hostage-taking for his alleged role in the kidnapping of 16 Americans last year.
Germine Joly, 29, is accused of leading the 400 Mawozo gang and is the first person charged in the U.S. in connection with the kidnapping of the missionaries last fall. He was extradited to the U.S. last week and faces separate charges in a firearms trafficking case.
Prosecutors say Joly was in a Haitian prison during the kidnapping but had “directed and asserted control of 400 Mawozo gang members’ kidnapping operations, including ransom negotiation for the hostages’ release.”
Three days after the abduction, the gang demanded $1 million per person in ransom money. Then two days later, the leader of the 400 Mawozo gang released a video saying he will kill them if he doesn’t get what he is demanding. The hostages were released in December 2021.
