FILE - Merrick Garland, U.S. attorney general, speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Washington, D.C. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)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.Joly Germaine, 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 charges in a firearms trafficking case, prosecutors said.The indictment says Germaine was in a Haitian prison during the kidnapping but was nonetheless able to direct his group's operations, including ransom negotiations for the captives' release.
One of the stated goals of the hostage-taking was to get the Haitian government to release Germaine from prison, prosecutors said.A total of 17 people from the missionary group — 12 adults and five minors — were abducted Oct.