Haiti Kidnapping

[steve-in-kville]

Does "not being charged for kidnapping" have anything to do with CAM not pressing charges?

To my immediate understanding of how this stuff works, it is not up to CAM. They may ask for leniency, but it is the prosecution that decides what charges stick.

[Josh]

It may be a lot harder to charge him for crimes that happened in Haiti, whereas the gun-running charges happened in the U.S.

This may sound surprising, but the penalty for gunrunning probably is steeper than kidnapping charges could be, and it is much easier to prove. It looks like as part of the case the government will prove he had involvement in kidnappings as a source of money to pay for the illegal guns.

Incidentally, this shows that America does actually have gun control laws - and can enforce them, when the government chooses to.

[temporal1]

2024: Jan 18 / Miami Herald / Haiti gang leader boasted he was ‘king of kings,’ just needed bullets to wipe out country
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation ... 05940.html

.. ‘I’m the king of kings’

Among the government’s witnesses, some of whom will have their identities shielded, are experts on weapons and the U.S. gun control export laws. The government will also put on the witness stand a Floridian who was the shipper of the guns into Haiti. Prosecutors said he will testify that he picked up barrels from Tunis’ house and put them on boats bound for Haiti. When he called her to complain about the weight of one of the barrels, Tunis said, “It’s rice.”

Sources in Haiti have long contended that Joly has relatives inside the gang who kept his No. 2, Lanmò Sanjou, also known as Joseph Wilson, in check as he received ransom payments and extortion payoffs.

While the gang was temporarily weakened after Joly’s May 2022 extradition to the United States, it has regained strength, raiding businesses in the Croix-des-Bouquets area and clashing with rival gangs. The violence led to the deaths of two children on Christmas Day when they were killed along with two adults when the gang carried out a deadly attack.

The day the missionaries were stopped at gunpoint as they returned from visiting a nearby orphanage in Ganthier, Joly was in prison. Still, he and Lanmò Sanjou spoke on the phone 10 times that day, Seifert said during her opening statement.

Lanmò Sanjou, whose name translates in English to “Death doesn’t know when it’s coming,” conducted the ransom negotiations.
During at least one instance of a kidnapping, he told the victim, “Look me in the eyes. I am the one holding you,” Seifert said.

Seifert played a clip showing Lanmò Sanjou saying, “If I don’t get what I need, you see these Americans? I’d rather kill them.
As I was coming here, I left a big weapon pointed at each of their heads.”

Lanmò Sanjou eventually demanded $1 million each for the hostages, which included five children.
He didn’t get the full $17 million, but a ransom was paid, sources told the Miami Herald.
The missionaries were freed after spending 61 days in captivity and their release was made to look like an escape.

Lanmò Sanjou is among seven leaders of five Haiti-based gangs who is wanted by the FBI’s Miami field office for the kidnappings of U.S. citizens in Haiti since 2021. Seifert said he ran the hostage-taking for 400 Mawozo and also directed what guns to buy. “Whenever we have to buy guns, Lanmò would come up with the money,” Joly said in a communication.

But in another call and text message, Seifert said, Joly also made his role clear: He boasted “I’m king now. I’m the king of kings.”

2024: Jan 19 / VOA / 6 Nuns Kidnapped in Haiti, Religious Leaders Say
https://www.voanews.com/a/nuns-kidnappe ... 48074.html

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI —
Six nuns were kidnapped Friday in Haiti as they traveled on a bus through the capital, according to religious leaders.

The nuns were accompanied by an undetermined number of unidentified people on the bus who also were kidnapped, according to a statement by the Haitian Conference of the Religious. It said the nuns are from the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Anne.

The congregation didn't respond to messages for comment. It wasn't immediately known who was responsible for Friday's kidnappings, although gangs that control an estimated 80% of Port-au-Prince have been blamed for thousands of abductions.

The conference said that too many kidnappings are occurring in Haiti and filling people’s souls "with sadness and fear."

Last year, about 3,000 people were reported kidnapped, according to U.N. statistics.

The nuns are the latest high-profile kidnapping victims reported in Haiti.
In late November, renowned Haitian Dr. Douglas Pape was abducted in Port-au-Prince.
He has yet to be released despite multiple ransoms being paid, according to local media reports.

In October 2021, 17 members of a U.S. religious organization were kidnapped and later freed, some after two months in captivity.

[temporal1]

2024 / Port-Au-Prince residents sheltering in place as violence escalates
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/ ... 024-01-18/

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince was on lockdown on Thursday, as flaming barricades across several neighborhoods forced residents to shelter in place or return home in the latest flare-ups in chronic gang violence plaguing the Caribbean country.
Streets were blocked off by burning tires and rocks, sending up huge plumes of black smoke in the sky across various parts of the city, according to Reuters eyewitnesses.

[temporal1]

National Catholic Register / “Abducted Haitian Nuns Released Amid Ongoing Gang Violence”
The release of the hostages comes after Pope Francis made a plea on their behalf during last Sunday’s Angelus.
https://www.ncregister.com/cna/abducted ... g-violence

[temporal1]

AP / Young missionary couple from US among 3 killed by gunmen in Haiti’s capital, family says
https://apnews.com/article/haiti-us-cou ... 6d24821efd

.. Two of the victims were a young married couple, Davy and Natalie Lloyd, according to a Facebook posting from Natalie Lloyd’s father, Missouri state Rep. Ben Baker. The third victim was Jude Montis, who was the country’s director of Missions In Haiti Inc. ..

[Ken]

AP / Young missionary couple from US among 3 killed by gunmen in Haiti’s capital, family says
https://apnews.com/article/haiti-us-cou ... 6d24821efd

.. Two of the victims were a young married couple, Davy and Natalie Lloyd, according to a Facebook posting from Natalie Lloyd’s father, Missouri state Rep. Ben Baker. The third victim was Jude Montis, who was the country’s director of Missions In Haiti Inc. ..

From the news coverage I read it appears that they were Baptist missionaries.

[Josh]

AP / Young missionary couple from US among 3 killed by gunmen in Haiti’s capital, family says
https://apnews.com/article/haiti-us-cou ... 6d24821efd

.. Two of the victims were a young married couple, Davy and Natalie Lloyd, according to a Facebook posting from Natalie Lloyd’s father, Missouri state Rep. Ben Baker. The third victim was Jude Montis, who was the country’s director of Missions In Haiti Inc. ..

I really can't believe any non-Haitians (particularly white Americans) are still trying to run the old model of missions, orphanages, aid, etc. in the country. It is completely unworkable, unless you're going to also import your own private army. The Haitians in my own church can't leave their villages and it's almost the point it's unsafe to step outside your house.

[temporal1]

AP / Young missionary couple from US among 3 killed by gunmen in Haiti’s capital, family says
https://apnews.com/article/haiti-us-cou ... 6d24821efd

.. Two of the victims were a young married couple, Davy and Natalie Lloyd, according to a Facebook posting from Natalie Lloyd’s father, Missouri state Rep. Ben Baker. The third victim was Jude Montis, who was the country’s director of Missions In Haiti Inc. ..

I really can't believe any non-Haitians (particularly white Americans) are still trying to run the old model of missions, orphanages, aid, etc. in the country. It is completely unworkable, unless you're going to also import your own private army. The Haitians in my own church can't leave their villages and it's almost the point it's unsafe to step outside your house.

Related forum topic:

Is Haiti Near Actual Collapse?
viewtopic.php?t=6640

Missions in Haiti Inc.
https://www.missionsinhaiti.com/

[Ken]

AP / Young missionary couple from US among 3 killed by gunmen in Haiti’s capital, family says
https://apnews.com/article/haiti-us-cou ... 6d24821efd

.. Two of the victims were a young married couple, Davy and Natalie Lloyd, according to a Facebook posting from Natalie Lloyd’s father, Missouri state Rep. Ben Baker. The third victim was Jude Montis, who was the country’s director of Missions In Haiti Inc. ..

I really can't believe any non-Haitians (particularly white Americans) are still trying to run the old model of missions, orphanages, aid, etc. in the country. It is completely unworkable, unless you're going to also import your own private army. The Haitians in my own church can't leave their villages and it's almost the point it's unsafe to step outside your house.

I guess there are people who find themselves led to work in conflict zones around the world. Haiti, Gaza, Syria, Ukraine, Myanmar, etc.

Not my calling and certainly not something to do with families and children in tow. But I can't find myself to criticize those who willingly put themselves in harm's way for their faith and beliefs.