Haitian Gang Leader Sentenced To Life In Prisoin In The U.S. For Kidnapping Missionaires, Including a Baby

Germine Joly, leader of Haitian gang 400 Mawozo, has been sentenced to life in federal prison without parole for his role in the kidnapping of 16 U.S. citizens, including an eight-month old baby.

A jury had convicted "Yonyon" of helping to abduct the people, most of whom were held at gunpoint for 62 days and only regained freedom after a $350,000 ransom was paid. Judge John D. Bates said the sentence was "stiff but warranted."

Joly claimed he was not the leader of the gang, which controls large swaths of eastern Port-au-Priince. However, judge bates claimed there was "frankly overwhelming" evidence about that being the case. He rejected a request from Joly to be sentenced to 25 years in prison but granted he be incarcerated in Florida, the same state in which his mother lives.

Joly had already been sentenced to 35 years in prison in the U.S. last year in a weapons smuggling and money laundering case. "The leaders of violent gangs in Haiti that terrorize American citizens in order to fuel their criminal activity will be met with the full force of the Justice Department," said then-Attorney General Merrick Garland after the sentencing.

Joly and three accomplices received at least $28,000 in wire transfers they ended up using to buy semi-automatic weapons as gangs continue to sow chaos in Haiti. Joly, the prosecutors said, decided which arms were needed to carry out violent operations and responsible for "managing and controlling the gang's hostage taking activities."

They were making reference to the kidnappings for which he was sentenced this week, events that took place in 2021, when the gang he led abducted members of an Ohio-based organization was making its way through the gang's territory after visiting an orphanage.

The former gang leader is not involved in the current crisis unfolding in the Caribbean country, where numerous criminal organizations control most of the capital, hundreds of thousands have been displaced and a sizable percentage of the population face hunger amid insufficient aid. He was extradited in May 2022 to the U.S. to stand trial in Washington and has been in custody ever since.