U.S. prosecutors seek life in prison for Haitian gang leader accused of weapons smuggling

U.S. federal prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for a Haitian gang leader accused of buying and smuggling high-caliber weapons from Florida to the Caribbean country, The Miami Herald reported.

Germine Joly, known as "Yonyon," was the leader of a 400-strong gang called Mawozo. He pleaded guilty to gun-smuggling charges after being indicted by a grand jury.

He and three accomplices received at least $28,000 in wire transfers they ended up using to buy semi-automatic weapons as gangs continue to sow chaos in Haiti. Joly, the prosecutors said, decided which arms were needed to carry out violent operations and responsible for "managing and controlling the gang's hostage taking activities."

A report from the federal probation office recommended Joly be sentenced to 20 years in prison followed by 3 of supervised probation, but federal prosecutors are seeking a harsher conviction because he is "responsible for specified unlawful activity that underpins his money laundering convictions: multiple hostage takings of U.S. citizens."

They were making reference to a series of events that took place in 2021, when the gang he led abducted 17 missionaries, including five children, as an Ohio-based organization was making its way through the gang's territory after visiting an orphanage. All but one were held for 62 days. Joly is facing separate charges for the abductions.

"These offenses show a complete disregard not just for U.S. law and security, but a complete disregard for the fate of the country of Haiti and its people," the prosecutors said in a passage of their request.

Joly's lawyers are seeking a more lenient sentence, arguing he shouldn't be sentenced to more than 17 and-a-half years in prison.

The former gang leader is not involved in the current crisis unfolding in the Caribbean country, where numerous criminal organizations control about 80% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, hundreds of thousands have been displaced and a sizable percentage of the population face hunger amid insufficient aid. He was extradited in May 2022 to the U.S. to stand trial in Washington and has been in custody ever since.

His process, however, does come amid increased pressure on U.S. authorities to do more to prevent local weapons and ammunition to end up in the beleaguered country.

"A sentence that is too lenient would convey the wrong message, including to other gang leaders who remain in Haiti and continue to wreak havoc on security in the country and commit crimes against U.S. nationals," federal prosecutors said. "Instead, the Court should send a message to Haiti's gang leaders—and those who would support their brutal criminal schemes—that violations of U.S. law will be punished seriously."