Haitian Gang Leader Charged in Kidnapping of US Missionaries

Haitian Gang Leader Charged in Kidnapping of US Missionaries
Demonstrators march demanding peace and security in La Plaine neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on May 6, 2022. Odelyn Joseph/AP Photo
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WASHINGTON—Federal prosecutors in the U.S. have charged the leader of a notoriously violent Haitian gang in connection with the kidnapping of 16 Americans last year, the Justice Department said Tuesday.

Germine Joly, 29, who is also known as “Yonyon,” is accused of leading the 400 Mawozo gang and is the first person charged by Justice Department prosecutors with having any involvement in the kidnapping of the Christian missionaries. He was extradited to the U.S. last week and faces separate firearm trafficking charges, prosecutors said.