Geraldine Joly, one of the most prominent group leaders in Haiti, was found guilty of theft 16 Americans who served as missionaries there.
Twelve members of the group from Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries, including a French national, were taken from the preachers in 2021 and held for two weeks. Just after a$ 350, 000 ransom was paid and Joly’s co-gang head, Lanmo Sanjou, made their release appear to be an escape from the wrath of his fellow gang members, were they freed.
Joly, known as” Yonyon,” took the stand in his defence and denied any involvement with the 400 Mawozo group. He was convicted of his position in the captive taking and was found guilty by a federal judge in the District of Columbia on Friday.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Ryan James of the Miami Field Office made the announcement.
The Miami Field Office of the FBI, the Justice Department, said in a statement that” This business will struggle aggressively to protect Americans who have been taken prisoner and are abused, and uphold the spiritual privileges of our citizens, including Christians.
According to Pirro,” Joly Germine orchestrated a story that used American Christian missionaries as negotiations cards to try to get his own release from a Creole prison.” It is as simple as saying,” We are coming for you when you commit crimes against Americans in other countries. Justice may not always be quick, but it is certain.
According to James, Joly’s faith “demonstrates the FBI’s steadfast commitment to follow the evidence wherever it leads and work our way up to the criminal plot leaders wherever they are.”
Untuk, 32, “found out” that the FBI was not at risk, according to James. ” Neither space nor length will stifle our fix.” We will use all the available resources and travel the world to bring to justice those who kidnap American.
Joly was found guilty of one count of holding a prisoner for payment and 16 works of holding a hostage for a U.S. nationwide.
Joly, the self-described “king” of the notoriously violent Creole group known as 400 Mawozo, recently admitted guilt for playing a role in a weapon trafficking plot that smuggled firearms into Haiti in contravention of U.S. export laws and the trafficking of the gang’s funds from ransoms paid for additional U.S. hostage victims. In June, he received a 35-year national jail sentence.
The 400 Mawozo, who is a member of the potent Viv Ansanm group, owns the places in the Croix-des-Bouquets commune south of Port-au-Prince, the country’s capital.
Joly kept in touch with other 400 Mawozo leaders, the majority of whom were his family, while operating the group’s operations from a Dominican jail using unmonitored mobile phones. He directed operations, provided the group’s weapons, and controlled the group’s finances.
The 17 Mennonite preachers from Christian Aid Ministries were stopped by 400 Mawozo’s military, masked men on October 16, 2021 as they were returning from a visit to an institution. In the trial, lawyers claimed that many of the group’s troops were carrying weapons that Joly had given them. 12 individuals and 5 children, including an 8-month-old, a 3-year-old, and a 6-year-old, were taken from the kidnapped party.
The group allegedly robbed the missionaries while speaking with Joly over the telephone.
According to the Justice Department, the gang demanded a ransom of$ 1 million for each of the missionaries ‘ return when they were taken to a building in a rural area. The crew threatened to kill all the captives if the payment was never paid in posts on social media.
With help from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and other governmental agencies, the FBI Miami Field Office conducted the case investigation.
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