US judge sentences Germine Joly, former leader of a powerful gang in Haiti, to 35 years in prison

By DÁNICA COTO
Associated Press

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The leader of a notoriously violent gang in Haiti linked to the kidnapping of 16 U.S. citizens has been sentenced to 35 years in prison. Germine Joly, best known as “Yonyon,” had pleaded guilty in January to weapons smuggling and the laundering of ransoms related to the U.S. citizens kidnapped in October 2021. The plea brought his trial to a halt. Joly was sentenced Monday in a federal court in Washington, D.C. The case against him is part of an ongoing push by U.S. authorities to halt the smuggling of weapons from the U.S. to Haiti and the kidnapping of U.S. citizens whose ransoms finance the purchase of illegal arms and ammunition.