Joly Germine, Haitian gang leader,
Gang leader Joly Germine was transferred from Haiti prison to U.S Custody in Washington D.C. in May 2022. Photo credit: Haitian National Police (PNH)

A Haitian gang leader has pleaded guilty to taking part in the smuggling of at least 24 military grade weapons shipped from Florida to Haiti, and for money laundering. Joly “Yonyon” Germine of the 400 Mawozo gang, known for kidnapping 17 Christian missionaries, entered the guilty plea on arms smuggling and money laundering Jan. 31 in a Washington D.C. federal court, according to the United States Department of Justice.

Germine was the leader of the Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, crew that kidnapped 16 American missionaries and one Canadian in October 2021. He carried out the firearms smuggling operations in partnership with a Pompano Beach, Fla., woman named Eliande Tunis, said to be Germine’s girlfriend. She pleaded guilty last month. 

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Email me at onz@haitiantimes.com
Onz Chery is a Haiti correspondent for The Haitian Times. Chery started his journalism career as a City College of New York student with The Campus. He later wrote for First Touch, local soccer leagues in New York and Elite Sports New York before joining The Haitian Times in 2019.