Haitian gang leader gets life sentence for 2021 kidnapping of 16 Americans

A federal judge has handed down a life sentence to Haitian gang leader Joly “Yonyon” Germine for orchestrating the 2021 kidnapping of 16 American missionaries, including five children.

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The sentencing took place on December 3 in U.S. District Court, District of Columbia. Judge John D. Bates ruled that Germine will serve life behind bars without the possibility of supervised release, and must also pay a $1,700 fine.

Germine, 34, from Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, was convicted earlier this year by a jury after a 10-day trial. The charges included one count of conspiracy to commit hostage-taking and 16 counts of holding a U.S. national hostage for ransom.

“This sentencing makes clear that Germine’s scheme to win freedom for himself by using Christians as pawns backfired,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, who announced the sentence. Pirro leads the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia.

Pirro added that most of the victims were held for 62 days. They were members of Christian Aid Ministries, a missionary group based in Ohio, and were abducted while returning from visiting an orphanage in October 2021.

The kidnapping was carried out by the 400 Mawozo, a violent Haitian group that Germine once called himself the “king” of. Armed, masked gang members stopped the missionaries on October 16, robbed them in a field, and then transported them to a rural building where they were held under threat of violence.

The gang initially demanded US$1 million per person—an estimated US$17 million total—but said early in negotiations that they would accept Germine’s release from jail instead of ransom money.

During negotiations, the group made posts online threatening the lives of the hostages if demands were not met.

Two hostages were freed on November 20 due to critical health concerns. On December 5, three more hostages were released—two adults with serious medical conditions and one six-year-old—after the gang received US$350,000.

Despite the partial ransom paid, the gang refused to free more victims. The remaining hostages later escaped while the gang was distracted, walking for five hours through dense terrain until they were safe. The FBI recovered them and transported the group out of the country.

Trial evidence showed Germine directed the kidnapping from prison using unmonitored cell phones. Prosecutors demonstrated he managed gang finances, supplied weapons, and controlled operations via family connections.

Before this conviction, Germine had already been serving 35 years for smuggling firearms to Haiti and laundering ransom funds, receiving a 35-year federal sentence in June 2024.

Authorities from multiple agencies participated in a whole-of-government response, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Marshals Service, along with international support from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen P. Seifert and Thomas N. Saunders, with support from paralegals, victim advocates, and foreign governments.