US jury convicts once powerful Haitian gang leader in kidnapping of US missionaries
Source: AP
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.
Joly, who has denied involvement with the gang, was sentenced to 35 years in prison last year after pleading guilty to weapons smuggling and the laundering of ransom related to the mass kidnapping.
Haitian police arrested Joly in 2014, and he was sentenced to life in prison in 2018. Authorities said he still directed gang operations from prison, including the October 2021 kidnapping of 16 Americans, including five children, and a Canadian who worked with the Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries. The children were ages 6 and 3 and 8 months old.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/haiti-gangs-kidnapping-us-missionaries-1a93a396855a768843f9d25cd359628b
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