US EditionAlleged gang leader is sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping of 17 missionaries in Haiti
Joly Germine, leader of the 400 Mawozo gang, was convicted for kidnapping 17 missionaries, including five children, with an initial ransom demand of $17 million.
- U.S. District Judge John Bates sentenced Joly Germine to life in prison on December 3, 2025, for orchestrating the Oct. 16, 2021 kidnapping of 17 victims near Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
- Prosecutors say the kidnappings aimed to secure Germine's release and demanded a $17,000,000 ransom, while Germine's defense attorneys deny his leadership and say he helped local farmers.
- Court records and charges show the U.S. prosecution began after Joly Germine's transfer in May 2022; prosecutors allege he ran the `400 Mawozo` gang from prison using unmonitored cellphones, and a jury convicted him earlier this year.
- Judge John Bates said Germine showed no remorse or acceptance of responsibility, prosecutors sought life, and family member Ray Noecker told Germine, `True freedom is not found outside of prison walls. True freedom is found inside your own heart.`
- The case also involved very young victims, including an 8-month-old child, and Germine was separately convicted last year in a plot to smuggle semiautomatic firearms from the U.S. to Haiti; all hostages were released or escaped.
23 Articles
23 Articles
Gang leader sentenced to life in U.S. for 2021 abduction of American missionaries
A Haitian gang leader was sentenced to life in federal prison for directing the 2021 abduction of 16 American missionaries in Haiti, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. The sentence was handed down on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., where 34-year-old Joly Germine of Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, received life without the possibility of supervised release. Germine was convicted by a federal jur…
Alleged Haitian gang leader sentenced to life in prison in kidnapping of 16 American missionaries
A man alleged to be the founder and leader of a Haitian gang has been sentenced to life in prison for orchestrating the 2021 kidnapping of 17 people, including five children, who were on a missionary trip to the Caribbean country.
Associated Press News
Alleged gang leader is sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping of 17 missionaries in Haiti
A man alleged to be the founder and leader of a Haitian gang has been sentenced to life in prison for orchestrating the kidnapping of 17 people, including five children, who were on a missionary trip to the Caribbean country.
Sentenced to life imprisonment in the United States, gang leader 400 Mawozo, Germine Joly, was found guilty of orchestrating the abduction of 17 missionaries The head of the Haitian gang 400 Mawozo, Germine Joly, alias "Yonyon", was sentenced on Wednesday to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole by a federal court in the Columbia district. He was found guilty of orchestrating the abduction of 17 missionaries from Christian Aid Mini…
Haitian gang leader Germine Joly, alias Yonyon, was sentenced this Wednesday, December 3rd to life imprisonment by a federal court in the United States for orchestrating the abduction of 17 missionaries, including 16 Americans and an eight-month-old baby. The information was reported by the Miami Herald newspaper. This conviction occurred almost three years after a kidnapping that shocked the international community and highlighted the rise of a…
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