Haitian gang leader ‘Yonyon’ is indicted in D.C. for alleged role in kidnapping of 16 Americans
The leader of a Haitian gang that kidnapped 17 American and Canadian missionaries on the eastern outskirts of Port-au-Prince last October was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia.
Germine Joly, 29, who is better known as “Yonyon,” was charged with conspiracy to commit hostage taking for his alleged role in the armed kidnapping of 16 U.S. citizens in Haiti.
The victims, including five children, were Christian missionaries serving in Haiti. Most of them were held captive for 61 days by the gang 400 Mawozo. The gang’s No. 2 demanded $1 million in ransom per victim and threatened to kill the missionaries, who worked for Ohio-based Christian Aid Missionaries, if the ransom was not paid. An undisclosed ransom was paid.
Joly was transferred to the United States last week from a Haitian prison on an international arrest warrant in connection to firearms trafficking in a separate case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He has since been detained in the District of Columbia and is scheduled to return to court next week for an arraignment.
Federal prosecutors said that during the Americans’ captivity, Joly was in regular contact with other 400 Mawozo leaders about the hostages’ kidnapping, captivity and ransom. He directed gang members and “asserted influence and control over the gang’s operations.” This included participating in ransom negotiations.
“One of the gang’s stated goals in holding the hostages captive was to secure from the Haitian government the defendant’s release from prison in Haiti,” the indictment said.
The missionaries, which included a Canadian, were kidnapped on Oct. 16 as they were returning from visiting an orphanage.
“This case shows that the Justice Department will be relentless in our efforts to track down anyone who kidnaps a U.S. citizen abroad,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “We will utilize the full reach of our law enforcement authorities to hold accountable anyone responsible for undermining the safety of Americans anywhere in the world.”
Federal Bureau of Investigations Director Christopher Wray added: “Today’s indictment demonstrates that the United States will not tolerate crime against our citizens, here or abroad.”
Wray also said the agency “will continue to work aggressively with our international partners to keep our citizens safe and bring perpetrators to justice.”
Joly’s 400 Mawozo gang is known for its mass abductions, grabbing people by the bus and carloads and extorting businesses. Last week, a Dominican diplomat, who also was a U.S. citizen, was kidnapped by the gang and held for four days. He was released hours after Joly’s arrival in the U.S.
But the high-profile kidnappings have continued unabated in recent days. The abduction of a doctor on Thursday, led the St. Luke Foundation to announce the closure of its two medical facilities, St. Damien Pediatric Hospital and St. Luc Hospital, to maternity, pediatric and COVID-19 patients to demand her release.
On Sunday, eight Turkish citizens were among several people traveling on a bus coming out of the neighboring Dominican Republic. They were kidnapped in the Croix-des-Bouquets neighborhood. The suburb east of Port-au-Prince is a stronghold of 400 Mawozo.