Current:Home > ScamsHaitian gang leader added to FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list for kidnapping and killing Americans-LoTradeCoin
Haitian gang leader added to FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list for kidnapping and killing Americans
View Date:2024-12-23 21:04:37
MIRAMAR, Fla. (AP) — The FBI added a Haitian gang leader to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on Wednesday for the kidnapping and slaying of American missionaries in that country, but conceded capturing him will be a difficult task in the often lawless nation.
In conjunction with the announcement, the U.S. State Department said it will pay up to $2 million for information leading to the arrest of Vitel’Homme Innocent, who is known by his first name only. He has already been indicted in the United States for the armed kidnapping of 16 Christian missionaries in 2021 and the slaying of missionary Marie Franklin and kidnapping of her husband, Jean, in 2022.
Most of the first group from Christian Aid Ministries, which included five children, escaped after 61 days in captivity and the others were released. Jean Franklin was released after three weeks when his family paid a ransom.
The FBI says Vitel’Homme leads the Kraze Bayre gang and worked in concert with the 400 Mawozo gang in the abductions. The agency believes he is still in Haiti and would face a possible death sentence in the U.S. if he were ever captured and convicted of Franklin’s murder.
“He is a menace to the island and he is clearly a menace to American citizens,” Jeffrey B. Veltri, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Miami office, said during a news conference.
Veltri conceded that even if authorities had information about Vitel’Homme’s whereabouts, capturing him would be difficult given the chaos in Haiti. Just Wednesday, a heavily armed gang burst into a hospital and took hundreds of women, children and newborns hostage.
The country’s gangs have grown more powerful than the government since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse and have bigger and better weapons than the police. Gang leaders continue operating with impunity, brushing off previous U.N. sanctions and criminal charges filed by U.S. federal authorities.
In early October, the U.N. Security Council voted to send a multinational force led by Kenya to help fight the gangs, but that country’s leaders are now balking. They say Kenya’s personnel need more training and funding, and they have not announced a deployment date.
Veltri said if Vitel’Homme is located, “we will work with our international partners, but it is an ongoing process. ... Haiti presents unique challenges.”
veryGood! (151)
Related
- 2025 NFL mock draft: QBs Shedeur Sanders, Cam Ward crack top five
- Texas governor skydives for first time alongside 106-year-old World War II veteran
- Panthers coaching job profile: Both red flags and opportunity after Frank Reich firing
- Diplomas for sale: $465, no classes required. Inside one of Louisiana’s unapproved schools
- 15 new movies you'll want to stream this holiday season, from 'Emilia Perez' to 'Maria'
- 32 things we learned in NFL Week 12: Playoff chase shaping up to be wild
- Google is deleting unused accounts this week. Here's how to save your old data
- Will & Grace Star Eric McCormack's Wife Janet Files for Divorce After 26 Years of Marriage
- 'Treacherous conditions' in NYC: Firefighters battling record number of brush fires
- Madagascar’s main opposition candidate files a lawsuit claiming fraud in the presidential election
Ranking
- Joel Embiid injury, suspension update: When is 76ers star's NBA season debut?
- Czech labor unions stage a day of action in protest at spending cuts and taxes
- ICC prosecutors halt 13-year Kenya investigation that failed to produce any convictions
- Indonesia’s 3 presidential contenders vow peaceful campaigns ahead of next year election
- Is Kyle Richards Finally Ready to File for Divorce From Mauricio Umansky? She Says...
- Big Time Rush's Kendall Schmidt and Mica von Turkovich Are Married, Expecting First Baby
- 2 children among 5 killed in Ohio house fire on Thanksgiving
- The Excerpt podcast: Israel-Hamas cease-fire's second day, Adult Survivors act expires
Recommendation
-
Former NFL coach Jack Del Rio charged with operating vehicle while intoxicated
-
Kathy Hilton Weighs in on Possible Kyle Richards, Mauricio Umansky Reconciliation
-
EU border agency helping search for missing crew after cargo ship sinks off Greece
-
Kylie Jenner Reveals She and Jordyn Woods “Never Fully Cut Each Other Off” After Tristan Thompson Scandal
-
Falling scaffolding plank narrowly misses pedestrians at Boston’s South Station
-
French labor minister goes on trial for alleged favoritism when he was a mayor
-
Natalie Portman on children working in entertainment: 'I don't believe that kids should work'
-
An abducted German priest is said to be freed in Mali one year after being seized in the capital