logo
Haiti gang leader denies ties to 400 Mawozo group, or role in kidnapping U.S. missionaries

Haiti gang leader denies ties to 400 Mawozo group, or role in kidnapping U.S. missionaries

Miami Herald15-05-2025

Germine Joly, the Haitian gang leader who ran a gunrunning conspiracy and kidnapping racket from the inside of a Haitian jail, denied any gang affiliation or role in the kidnapping of 16 U.S. missionaries as he took the stand in his own defense on Wednesday inside a Washington federal courtroom.
Joly, wearing a black suit, tie and eye glasses, said he was neither a member of the 400 Mawozo gang nor created the criminal armed group, which in 2021 took responsibility for the abduction of 16 U.S. citizens and a Canadian national with Ohio-based Christian Aid Missionaries. The missionaries were grabbed at gunpoint on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince after returning from visiting an orphanage.
While some of the hostages were released after a few days in captivity, the majority of them were held for two months and freed after an undisclosed ransom was paid. Their release was made to look like an escape by the gang, which is being accused of abducting the missionaries, including five children, as a bargaining chip to help secure Joly's release from a Haitian prison.
Known as 'Yonyon,' Joly pleaded guilty last year to a 48-count indictment related to weapons smuggling and money laundering where the proceeds from kidnapping ransoms were used to purchase automatic rifles. The guns were bought in Florida from several of the gang's associates and were later smuggled to Haiti, where they were used by 400 Mawozo in various criminal enterprises including extortion, killings and kidnappings.
As a result of his guilty plea, Joly was sentenced to 35 years in a U.S. prison by the same U.S. District Judge John D. Bates who is now presiding over his current federal trial where he's charged with 16 counts of kidnapping.
During his testimony Wednesday, he insisted he had no business with 400 Mawozo other than gun sales and that he neither was a member nor creator of the criminal group, now part of a powerful gang coalition in Haiti. Joly said cousins of his, including Lanmò Sanjou, were members.
The current head of the gang, Lanmò Sanjou, aka Joseph Wilson, is among several gang leaders wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for his role in the kidnappings of U.S. citizens in Haiti.
Joly's repeated denial of his gang affiliation, and text messages the federal government presented as evidence to show his ties to illicit weapons smuggling from Florida and his relations with 400 Mawozo, led prosecutors to delay closing arguments and present a rebuttal witness on Thursday. Closing arguments in the trial are now expected Thursday.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Woman detained by ICE in CT city, two young children allegedly left terrified in car
Woman detained by ICE in CT city, two young children allegedly left terrified in car

Yahoo

time30 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Woman detained by ICE in CT city, two young children allegedly left terrified in car

New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker confirmed Wednesday that the New Haven Police Department was told that a woman from the Hill neighborhood of the city was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Elicker said they are trying to confirm that the woman was with her two children, ages 13 and 8, when the arrest by ICE occurred. 'If that is true…that is deplorable and inhumane,' Elicker said. Elicker said he has two children about those ages, who would 'lose their minds' if they saw their mother arrested in such a way. It would be 'beyond the pale,' he said. He said he was told she was getting the kids ready to go to school when the arrest occurred. Further, Elicker said, ICE did not inform the city or the Police Department that the arrest would take place, which 'creates a danger' for her, police and ICE, because the arrest could be seen as an abduction by those who did not know what was occurring. 'It puts our officers and ICE at risk,' he said. Elicker, who did not name the woman, said she had been charged in March with third-degree assault following a conflict in which she and another person suffered minor injuries. He said the case remains pending. John Lugo, an organizer with New Haven-based Unidad Latina en Accion, said the woman was taken around 8:15 a.m. on Monday morning with her two children in her car. 'The woman was taken and detained and her two traumatized children remained in the car,' Lugo said. Lugo said one of the children is autistic and keeps asking for his mother. 'He wants his mom but there is no mom. Mom is sitting in jail,' Lugo said. Lugo said both children are staying with a grandmother in the state. The grandmother is visiting from Mexico but the length of her stay in the U.S. is unclear, so Lugo and his organization are worried about the future of the children once she goes back to Mexico. CT high school's joy in graduation dimmed by classmate taken by ICE. Town hopes to get him back. Lugo said the best way the public can help is money for legal representation. He said the detained woman does not have a lawyer at this time and that all other state detainees end up in Texas. He's waiting to see if she ends up transferred to Texas, which he said would only add to the financial burden. 'That's one way to punish migrants when you have to transfer someone so far away. Being in Texas adds an additional cost. Now they need a lawyer to travel there because sometimes they aren't allowed to have video conferences,' Lugo said. Lugo said since last week there have been more people being detained without any history of felonies. 'The perfect example was the Southington car wash incident,' Lugo said. 'They were just profiled. They drove by and saw a bunch of migrants and decided to stop and detained them. That happened the same day as what happened to the women in New Haven.' 'In Southington, they just detained four people because they looked like migrants. They weren't looking for a particular person. I think it's very troubling and the hard part is seeing the kids crying and being traumatized,' he added. 'Due process is not there anymore.' The reason for the Southington arrest has not been confirmed by authorities. Lugo said since the start of President Donald Trump's second term, people in his community are scared. 'They are trying to figure out what to do. Many are thinking about going back to their country because this is not a safe place anymore,' Lugo said. 'It's not just the government. We see other kids at school threatening to call ICE on classmates and parents. We see landlords taking advantage. They are raising the rent and are getting them evicted. The first threat by many is: if you don't move, 'I will call ICE.'' 'I have two cases in which New Haven restaurant bosses that have told workers if you don't stop complaining about wages or raises, I'm going to call immigration on you guys. It's not just the government. This is empowering people to hate people and hate us.' Lugo said he fears that ICE is expanding and that he knows of an office that has opened in New Haven. 'We think eventually they are going to hit us hard in Connecticut just because they want to punish the state because the state has taken a stance on behalf of the migrant community,' Lugo said. The Southington and New Haven detainments by ICE are all on the heels of a Meriden high school student and his father being detained last week.

Man convicted of fraud for posing as flight attendant to fly for free
Man convicted of fraud for posing as flight attendant to fly for free

Yahoo

time30 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Man convicted of fraud for posing as flight attendant to fly for free

(CNN) – A man accused of falsely posing as a flight attendant to reap dozens of free flights has been convicted of wire fraud and fraudulently entering the secure area of an airport. Tiron Alexander, 35, was found guilty by a federal jury after taking 34 free flights that he obtained by pretending to be a flight attendant or a pilot, the U.S. District Attorney in Southern Florida said in a news release Tuesday. He was also convicted of entering the secure area at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport under false pretenses, authorities said. The man was employed by an unidentified airline based in Dallas beginning in 2015, court documents said, but not as a pilot or a flight attendant. The scheme to obtain free tickets, for a Florida-based airline, began in 2018 and continued until 2024, according to court documents. Alexander was indicted on these charges in Florida. He was arrested in California in February. The tickets Alexander secured are reserved for flight attendants and pilots. Free flights are among the top perks of working as a pilot or flight attendant. The benefit is based on seniority and tenure. Using the airlines' online ticketing systems, Alexander claimed to have worked intermittently for seven different carriers, according to the prosecutors' news release. He was convicted of four counts of wire fraud and one count of falsely entering the airport's secure area. Alexander was represented by attorneys in the public defender's office in Miami. CNN has reached out to them for comment. Authorities allege Alexander had booked more than 100 flights by falsely posing as a flight attendant. Alexander will be sentenced in August. He faces up to 20 years in prison for the wire fraud counts and up to 10 years for entering the airport's secure area, according to the indictment.

Immigrant shelter whistleblower asking DOJ to investigate 'disturbing pattern' at taxpayer-funded hotels
Immigrant shelter whistleblower asking DOJ to investigate 'disturbing pattern' at taxpayer-funded hotels

Yahoo

time30 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Immigrant shelter whistleblower asking DOJ to investigate 'disturbing pattern' at taxpayer-funded hotels

A former immigrant shelter director in Massachusetts is petitioning Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice to launch an investigation into the "disturbing pattern" of criminal activity, sexual assaults and financial abuse that he says is widespread in the state-run migrant shelter system. Jon Fetherston, a former director of an immigrant shelter in Marlborough, Massachusetts, first blew the whistle about the widespread abuse in the shelter system after he discovered a Haitian migrant named Ronald Joseph, who was living in his shelter, had repeatedly raped and impregnated his 13-year-old daughter. Fetherston previously told Fox News Digital that as soon as Joseph heard he was losing custody of his daughter, he "reached across the table and grabbed me and got angry with me and started cursing and yelling and screaming and swinging at me because he realized what was happening." However, instead of being arrested immediately, Fetherston was directed to order Joseph a Lyft ride to another shelter in Worcester County. Joseph was not arrested until eight months in February. Us Attorney Alina Habba Announces Rep. Mciver Hit With Federal Charges Over Newark Ice Clash Though this case was particularly egregious, Fetherston said that "there is a lot of undocumented violence that goes on" and that rape, domestic violence, sex trafficking, drug dealing and other crimes are so commonplace in the Massachusetts shelter system that many incidents simply fall through the cracks. Read On The Fox News App Fetherston said, "The entire experience has shaken me to my core." In a letter sent to Bondi on Monday, Fetherston said that this was "not an isolated incident" but despite his raising the alarm, "there has been a deliberate wall of silence. No reforms. No accountability. Just more spin, stonewalling, and bureaucratic excuses." "This is a crisis — one that requires federal action now," he said. Fetherston is now asking Bondi to launch a full investigation into criminal activity and sexual violence within Massachusetts-run migrant shelters, widespread fraud and misuse of federal and state funds, the deliberate refusal to coordinate with federal law enforcement agencies and the pattern of retaliation against those reporting abuse, danger or misconduct. Republican State Ags Seek 'Game Plan' From Fbi, Doj Amid 'Growing Wave Of Antisemitic Domestic Terrorism' The former shelter director turned whistleblower said that "these crimes and failures cannot be brushed aside any longer," because "innocent people — especially children — are being hurt, and the people responsible are being protected by silence and political calculation." Fetherston placed much of the blame for rampant mismanagement and abuse in the shelter system on Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey, who has been extremely critical of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Fetherston said that "the impact of the Healey administration's hotel shelter policy has been devastating for both residents inside the shelters and the local communities surrounding them." "I personally witnessed traumatic incidents — including assaults, fraud, and serious mental health crises — with minimal intervention from the state," he said. Blue State Governor Sounds Off About 'Disturbing' Ice Operations On Affluent Liberal Islands "Families were placed in overcrowded, poorly managed facilities with little to no oversight, where safety was constantly compromised," he explained. "Local communities were never consulted, resulting in growing resentment and fear. Neighborhoods saw increased police calls, strain on emergency services, and the burden of absorbing hundreds of people without additional resources." He said the Healey administration's "lack of transparency and refusal to collaborate with municipalities left both residents and local officials in the dark, with serious consequences." He also claimed he has faced retaliation for speaking out, including "having my safety threatened, being publicly discredited, and physically targeted." "If you challenge the narrative, you're silenced," he said. "That culture of suppression has created a dangerous environment where truth is buried and accountability is nonexistent." Handful Of House Democrats Join Republicans In Sanctuary City Crackdown Healey's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Healey has previously expressed outrage and called for a full audit of the state's shelters after it was discovered that a 28-year-old illegal immigrant, Leonardo Andujar Sanchez, was discovered using a shelter to store an AR-15 and nearly $1 million in illegal article source: Immigrant shelter whistleblower asking DOJ to investigate 'disturbing pattern' at taxpayer-funded hotels

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store