The leader of a gang that kidnapped 17 adults and children working in Haiti with Christian Aid Ministries in 2021 was found guilty by a federal jury for his role in the crimes May 16.

Joly Germine, the 32-year-old former leader of the 400 Mawozo Haitian gang, was found guilty of 16 counts of hostage taking of a U.S. national for ransom. The group included 11 American adults, five children, one Canadian citizen and a Haitian driver.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that Germine was already sentenced in June 2024 to 35 years in prison for pleading guilty to gun trafficking firearms from the U.S. to Haiti in violation of export laws and laundering funds derived from ransoms paid for other U.S. hostage victims.

“This office will fight aggressively to protect Americans who are taken hostage and abused, and to uphold the religious freedoms of our people, including Christians,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro in the release. “As the evidence demonstrated, Joly Germine orchestrated a plot that leveraged American Christian missionaries as bargaining chips to try to secure his own release from a Haitian prison. When you commit crimes against Americans in other countries, it makes no difference where you are — we are coming for you. Justice may not always be swift, but it is certain.”

Germine directed the gang’s operations from his Haitian prison cell using unmonitored cell phones. The gang stopped CAM vehicles Oct. 16, 2021, and drove the group to a field and robbed them while consulting Germine by phone. The Attorney’s Office said the gang then demanded $1 million each for their return or Germine’s release from prison.

Two hostages were released a month later due to health reasons. Two adults with other medical issues and a 6-year-old were released Dec. 5, 2021, after a $350,000 ransom was paid. The Attorney’s Office stated the remaining hostages escaped Dec. 16, 2021, “under cover of darkness while their captors were distracted, walking for five hours through the Haitian bush until they were out of the gang’s territory. They were received by the FBI, which had deployed to Haiti and arranged to immediately transport them from Haiti before the gang could respond to their escape. In total, most of the missionaries were held for 62 days.”

CAM general director Weston Showalter said the organization honors the role of civil government in responding to violence and oppression.

“They have fulfilled their role as ordained by God,” he said. “However, we don’t wish ill on Germine. We extend forgiveness to him and the other members of the 400 Mawozo gang. Our desire is that they would come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, who died and rose again to redeem and transform lives.

“Our prayer is that Germine and other members of the gang would experience his forgiveness and the resulting abundant life in Christ, which we see as the only key to lasting change.”

CAM, an Anabaptist organization, continues to be active in Haiti with both CAM staff and local partners. Its Work for Wages project employs men and women to build and repair roads, help with water projects and other community development projects. CAM also supports SALT Microfinance Savings Groups, hot meals for school children and donations of medical supplies.

Governmental entities involved in the hostage situation included the Justice Department, Department of State, U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Customs and Border Protection Service, Drug Enforcement Agency, Department of Defense, U.S. Marshals Service, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the governments of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.