Joly Germine, 32, of Croix-des-Bouquets, was found guilty on Saturday, May 17, 2025, by a federal jury in the District of Columbia for his role in orchestrating the hostage-taking of 16 American citizens, including five children, in 2021.
Joly Germine, 32, of Croix-des-Bouquets, was found guilty on Saturday, May 17, 2025, by a federal jury in the District of Columbia for his role in orchestrating the hostage-taking of 16 American citizens, including five children, in 2021. The hostages were held for 62 days.
The verdict was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and FBI Assistant Special Agent Ryan James of the Miami field office, according to a U.S. government statement on Saturday, May 17, 2025.
"Our office will wage a relentless fight to protect kidnapped and abused Americans and to defend the religious freedom of our people, including Christians. As the evidence has demonstrated, Joly Germine orchestrated a conspiracy using American Christian missionaries as bargaining chips to secure his own release from a Haitian prison," said Attorney Pirro. “When crimes are committed against Americans abroad, no matter where you are—we will come for you. Justice may not always be swift, but it is inevitable,” the statement said.
“This conviction demonstrates the FBI’s determination to follow evidence to the top of criminal organizations, wherever they may be. Haitian gang leader and convicted kidnapper Joly Germine has learned he is not beyond the FBI’s reach,” said Agent James. “Neither time nor distance will weaken our resolve. We will use every means available, to the ends of the earth, to bring to justice those who kidnap Americans.”
After a ten-day trial, the jury found Germine guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit hostage-taking and sixteen counts of holding U.S. citizens hostage for ransom.
The former self-proclaimed "king" of the infamous 400 Mawozo gang, Germine had previously pleaded guilty to arms trafficking to Haiti in violation of U.S. export laws, as well as to money laundering from ransoms paid for other American hostages. For these crimes, he was sentenced in June 2024 to 35 years in federal prison, the statement said.
The 400 Mawozo gang operated in Croix-des-Bouquets, east of Port-au-Prince. Germine directed the gang's operations from prison using unmonitored cell phones and maintained constant contact with other gang leaders, most of whom were close to him. He managed the gang's finances, supplied weapons, and oversaw operations.
On October 16, 2021, 17 Mennonite missionaries from the Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries were returning from a visit to an orphanage when they were intercepted by armed and masked members of the gang. The group included 12 adults and five children, including an 8-month-old baby, a 3-year-old, and a 6-year-old. Sixteen of the victims were American, one Canadian.
The gang drove the missionaries to a field, robbed them, and consulted with Germine by phone. They were then taken to a building in a rural area, held at gunpoint, and a ransom of $1 million per hostage was demanded. On social media, the gang threatened to execute the hostages if the ransom was not paid. Early on, the gang leaders indicated they would accept Germine's release as an alternative to payment.
On November 20, 2021, two hostages were released for medical reasons. On December 5, three others—two sick adults and a six-year-old child—were released after paying $350,000. Although the gang promised to release all the hostages after this payment, Germine ordered them to be held. On December 16, the remaining hostages escaped during the night, walking for five hours through the Haitian bush until they left the gang's area. They were taken into custody by the FBI, which immediately evacuated them from Haiti.
Evidence showed that Germine ordered the kidnapping, designated the detention locations, and set a $17 million ransom in the hopes that the Haitian government would negotiate their release. He was also involved in decisions regarding the releases.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI's Miami office with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Numerous agencies contributed to the response, including Customs, the DEA, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Marshals, the RCMP, and the governments of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
The case was prosecuted by federal prosecutors Karen P. Seifert and Tom Saunders, with support from Jorge Casillas, Kimberly Paschall, Yvonne Bryant, Tonya Jones, and Guisela Castillo, the statement concluded.
The 400 Mawozo gang is part of the Viv ansanm coalition of gangs designated
