Latest news with #Mawozo
Toronto Star
19-05-2025
- Toronto Star
US jury convicts once powerful Haitian gang leader in kidnapping of US missionaries
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A U.S. jury has found a once powerful Haitian gang leader guilty of organizing the kidnapping of 16 U.S. citizens in 2021 and holding them hostage for more than two months. Germine Joly, whom authorities said led the 400 Mawozo gang in Haiti, will be sentenced later this year following Friday's conviction at a federal courthouse in Washington, D.C.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Yahoo
Haiti gang leader denies ties to 400 Mawozo group, or role in kidnapping U.S. missionaries
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.
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Miami Herald
15-05-2025
- Miami Herald
Haiti gang leader denies ties to 400 Mawozo group, or role in kidnapping U.S. missionaries
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.
30-04-2025
- Politics
Haitians fleeing gang violence swim across the country's longest river
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Dozens of people swam and waded across Haiti's longest river on Wednesday in a desperate attempt to flee gangs that launched a fresh attack on a city in the country's central region that has been under siege for almost a week. The onslaught in rural areas of Petite Rivière began before dawn, according to Bertide Horace, spokesperson for the Commission for Dialogue, Reconciliation and Awareness to Save the Artibonite, an activist group. 'Gangs are invading the city everywhere,' she told The Associated Press by phone. 'There are people trapped in their homes who can't leave, and the guys are setting fire wherever they go.' Videos posted on social media showed people balancing their belongings on their head or holding them aloft as they crossed the Artibonite River. A couple of boats ferried the few who could afford one. Horace blamed the Gran Grif gang for the ongoing attack, adding that the Viv Ansanm gang coalition was providing reinforcements. Gunmen first attacked Petite Rivière on April 24, and they have seized full control of the town's northern region, she said. 'The police are still fighting, but they have already taken control of a good part of the city,' Horace said. Several people have been killed, including an 11-year-old child, Horace said. Gran Grif is the largest gang to operate in the central Artibonite region. It was blamed for an attack in the central town of Pont-Sondé in October 2024, where more than 70 people were killed in one of the biggest massacres in Haiti's recent history. Gran Grif was formed after Prophane Victor, a former member of Parliament who represented Petite Rivière, began arming young men in the region, according to a U.N. report. The attack on Petite Rivière comes weeks after the Canaan and 400 Mawozo gangs struck other towns in the Artibonite region, according to the U.N. political mission in Haiti. The gangs in late March seized control of most of Mirebalais, where gunmen stormed a local prison and released more than 500 inmates. Gangs also raided the nearby town of Saut d'Eau, which attracts thousands for an annual Vodou-Catholic pilgrimage. The U.N. mission said in a report released Wednesday that while the attacks began on March 21, prompting residents to call for help on social media, the government did not deploy specialist police units until March 31. At least 15 people were killed in Mirebalais, including two Catholic nuns. Most people were shot inside their homes or on the street as they tried to flee, according to the report. The U.N. mission noted that the Canaan gang leader had posted a video on social media on March 20 warning of 'an imminent attack' on Mirebalais. The mission said gangs struck to dismantle a barricade that a self-defense group had erected to stop gunmen from entering the heart of Mirebalais and to block the smuggling of weapons and drugs, presumably from the neighboring Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. Overall, more than 1,600 people were killed from January to March in Haiti, including at least 35 children. Another 850 people were injured, according to the U.N. report. Most of the killings and injuries were reported in the capital, Port-au-Prince, with 85% of it controlled by gangs. Gangs were responsible for 35% of the deaths and injuries, while police operations and executions were responsible for 56%. The rest were blamed on vigilante movements. During that time frame, at least 161 people were kidnapped, with 63% of those cases reported in Artibonite, according to the report. Haiti's National Police are fighting gangs with help from a U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police that deployed last year. However, the mission has struggled as it remains underfunded and understaffed, with roughly 1,000 personnel out of the 2,500 envisioned.
Associated Press
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Haitians fleeing gang violence swim across the country's longest river
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Dozens of people swam and waded across Haiti's longest river on Wednesday in a desperate attempt to flee gangs that launched a fresh attack on a city in the country's central region that has been under siege for almost a week. The onslaught in rural areas of Petite Rivière began before dawn, according to Bertide Horace, spokesperson for the Commission for Dialogue, Reconciliation and Awareness to Save the Artibonite, an activist group. 'Gangs are invading the city everywhere,' she told The Associated Press by phone. 'There are people trapped in their homes who can't leave, and the guys are setting fire wherever they go.' Videos posted on social media showed people balancing their belongings on their head or holding them aloft as they crossed the Artibonite River. A couple of boats ferried the few who could afford one. Horace blamed the Gran Grif gang for the ongoing attack, adding that the Viv Ansanm gang coalition was providing reinforcements. Gunmen first attacked Petite Rivière on April 24, and they have seized full control of the town's northern region, she said. 'The police are still fighting, but they have already taken control of a good part of the city,' Horace said. Several people have been killed, including an 11-year-old child, Horace said. Haiti's heartland under attack Gran Grif is the largest gang to operate in the central Artibonite region. It was blamed for an attack in the central town of Pont-Sondé in October 2024, where more than 70 people were killed in one of the biggest massacres in Haiti's recent history. Gran Grif was formed after Prophane Victor, a former member of Parliament who represented Petite Rivière, began arming young men in the region, according to a U.N. report. The attack on Petite Rivière comes weeks after the Canaan and 400 Mawozo gangs struck other towns in the Artibonite region, according to the U.N. political mission in Haiti. The gangs in late March seized control of most of Mirebalais, where gunmen stormed a local prison and released more than 500 inmates. Gangs also raided the nearby town of Saut d'Eau, which attracts thousands for an annual Vodou-Catholic pilgrimage. The U.N. mission said in a report released Wednesday that while the attacks began on March 21, prompting residents to call for help on social media, the government did not deploy specialist police units until March 31. At least 15 people were killed in Mirebalais, including two Catholic nuns. Most people were shot inside their homes or on the street as they tried to flee, according to the report. The U.N. mission noted that the Canaan gang leader had posted a video on social media on March 20 warning of 'an imminent attack' on Mirebalais. The mission said gangs struck to dismantle a barricade that a self-defense group had erected to stop gunmen from entering the heart of Mirebalais and to block the smuggling of weapons and drugs, presumably from the neighboring Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. A trail of violence Overall, more than 1,600 people were killed from January to March in Haiti, including at least 35 children. Another 850 people were injured, according to the U.N. report. Most of the killings and injuries were reported in the capital, Port-au-Prince, with 85% of it controlled by gangs. Gangs were responsible for 35% of the deaths and injuries, while police operations and executions were responsible for 56%. The rest were blamed on vigilante movements. During that time frame, at least 161 people were kidnapped, with 63% of those cases reported in Artibonite, according to the report. Haiti's National Police are fighting gangs with help from a U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police that deployed last year. However, the mission has struggled as it remains underfunded and understaffed, with roughly 1,000 personnel out of the 2,500 envisioned. ___ Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
