PORT-AU-PRINCE — A Miami man was arrested in Port-au-Prince after admitting that his gun was used in a kidnapping attempt, the Haitian National Police said via Twitter Sunday.
Dorleus Jonas, 59, is the former owner of J.D. Moving Services, a defunct business not active since 2018, according Inter Credit Report.
The kidnapping Jonas allegedly assisted with took place on Rue Germain in Sarthe. When the police arrived, the bandits fled, leaving behind an uzi firearm. Justice of the peace Erick Dorsainvil ordered Jonas’s arrest after the Floridian admitted that the weapon was his, the police said.
It is unclear whether Jonas took part in the attempted kidnapping nor how the police found him.
Kidnapping cases have been on the rise in Port-au-Prince and its surrounding areas in recent weeks. On Saturday, 17 missionaries, 16 Americans and one Canadian, were kidnapped in Croix-des-Bouquets, a commune eight miles northeast of Port-au-Prince.
Haitian-Americans from Florida have long been involved in Haiti’s ongoing violence. In 2016, Junior Joseph, a Florida gun shop owner, was also found guilty of trafficking firearms to Haiti with the help of former Senator Herve Fourcand, according to Miami Herald.
More recently, three Floridians were arrested on suspicion of being linked to Jovenel Moïse’s assassination in July. All three —James Solages, Emmanuel Sanon and Joseph Vincent — are in custody in Haiti as the murder investigation continues.