Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 13 février 2024

 The Catholic Church calls on Ariel Henry to step aside

paptimesnewsFebruary 9, 2024

The Conference of Bishops of Haiti issued an urgent statement today, urging Prime Minister Ariel Henry to take decisive action to halt the spiral of violence gripping the country. In a climate of heightened political and social tensions, the Catholic Church has unequivocally aligned itself with peace and national security. 

“Stop the bloodshed and cease the loss of lives!” declared the Haitian bishops in a press release this morning. They demanded an immediate halt to the violence, which has already claimed the lives of numerous innocent individuals and continues to imperil the nation’s stability. 

In their declaration, the bishops expressed profound concern regarding the ongoing deterioration of the security and humanitarian situation in Haiti. They underscored the government’s duty to safeguard the lives and rights of all Haitian citizens, as well as to ensure the nation’s security and stability. 

“We implore Prime Minister Ariel Henry to act with wisdom and courage in seeking peaceful and enduring solutions to the current crisis,” stated the bishops. Additionally, they called upon all political, social, and economic stakeholders to demonstrate responsibility and restraint in their actions, thereby averting any escalation of violence and chaos.

National Center of Haitian Apostolate <

SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR B - February 11, 2024

Leviticus13, 1-2 + 44-46; Psalm 32; 1 Cor. 10, 31-11, 1; Mark 1, 40-45    

Msgr. Pierre André Pierre

People were coming to Jesus from everywhere. Mark in his Gospel shows Jesus “moved by pity” and touching the sick to heal them of their physical ailments. This Sunday, February 11 is World Day of the Sick. It is an annual observance started by Pope John Paul II in 1992 as a way for believers to offer prayers for those suffering from illnesses.

From the book of Leviticus to the Gospel of Mark, the word of God today speaks to us of these people who are affected by leprosy. This contagious disease was considered the consequence of sin. It was all the more reason to exclude the lepers from the community and the city. To avoid any contamination, lepers had to be kept away. They lived among themselves hidden along the roadside, in the suffering of exclusion, without a home or income.

What is Jesus’ attitude towards them? He was concerned about all the excluded. They were even his priority. With him, Evil does not have the last word. He is not afraid to defy the prohibitions by touching the leper. The freedom that he takes finds its source in his love for God and for the person who is sick. It is a love without borders that is not afraid to shake up the rules and makes his freedom authentic. Jesus' long-term objective is to set us free from Evil, the real leprosy of the soul, the primary cause of all our deadly woes.  He wants to set us free of death itself. His healings are a first step toward that inner healing of the heart from sin, a gift much greater than the temporary cure of a passing ailment.

We can think of all the sick and disabled people who live on the margins of society and who suffer from loneliness and abandonment. This Health Sunday is intended also to make visible all caregivers, researchers, helpers, visitors to the sick, chaplaincies, and all associations that care for sick, elderly, or disabled people.

The service to the most vulnerable, however, is not just the business of a few. It concerns us all. To fulfill this mission let us turn to Jesus. First in Promoting Compassion. It is vital to show compassion and empathy towards individuals who are sick, recognizing their dignity, and providing them with the care and support they need. Second in recognizing the valuable contributions of professional caregivers and volunteers who work tirelessly to alleviate suffering and provide comfort to patients.

Finally, let us join Jesus in caring for everyone through acts of service and prayer. He invites us to recognize the inherent dignity of every person as a child of God, a brother or a sister, and the importance of solidarity in the journey towards healing, well-being, and building together the kingdom of God.

US senators express support for democratic governance in Haiti

Cardin, Durbin, Kaine, Merkley, Booker, Van Hollen, Welch, Murphy express support for democratic governance in Haiti …

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) issued a statement on what should have been Haiti’s Presidential Inauguration Day on February 7, 2024.

“Exactly 38 years ago, the Haitian people succeeded in expelling a dictator from their shores. Five years later, Haiti’s first democratically-elected president assumed office. Today should have marked the presidential inauguration of the first democratically elected Haitian leader since the assassination of Jovenel Moïse in July 2021 following commitments from the de facto government of Ariel Henry to hold elections in 2023 under the December 21 accord. However, rather than today being a celebration of Haitian democracy, continued waves of murders, kidnappings, and sexual assaults by violent gangs – often using U.S. made weapons – have made it impossible for the Haitian people to hold free, fair, and democratic elections.

“We stand in solidarity with the Haitian people who bravely and resiliently continue to aspire to create a safer, more economically prosperous, and democratic society. We urge the de facto government of Ariel Henry to take serious and concrete steps, alongside major opposition actors, to lay the groundwork for the creation of a transition consensus government capable of holding free and fair elections. We also urge the U.S. government and our partners in the international community to redouble efforts to support the Haitian people in sustainably addressing the country's ongoing security, governance, and humanitarian challenges. Only by doing so can we find a path forward to bring back peace and prosperity for all Haitians.”

Myrtha Désulmé | The hypocrisy over Haiti

January, 1, 2024, ushered in the momentous 220th anniversary of Haiti’s independence, an unprecedented feat never again repeated anywhere. But while the world owes a debt of gratitude to Haiti for freeing humanity by pioneering the cycle of abolition, Haiti was instead condemned to perpetual persecution because that magnificent victory shattered the world economic order based on the heinous scourge of slavery. 

The 220 years of ostracism, plunder, isolation, persecution, demonisation, repression, and destabilisation by France and the US, to ensure that Haiti would never emerge as a nation, have now resulted in utter chaos where gangs are in effect running the country, committing the most heinous crimes all day every day with total impunity, under the complicit eye of an illegitimate criminal government, which is being imposed by the US to preside over a literal genocide against the Haitian people.

To make matters worse, the same imperialist powers, which, based on reports by the US Department of Homeland Security’s investigations unit and the UN Office on Drugs and Crimes, have flooded Haiti with guns, and engineered the violence, massacres, and mayhem, are using that as a pretext, to once more trample on Haiti’s Constitution and sovereignty by planning another disastrous military occupation to entrench the illegitimate government, and thwart, yet again, the Haitian people’s struggle to regain their sovereignty. The coup de grace is being administered by Haiti’s Caribbean neighbours, led by Jamaica, and Kenya, who are all jumping up to volunteer to be used as pawns to carry out this transgression.

BRAINWASHED

And lest anyone should think that all of the above is just conspiracy theory, as many have been brainwashed to believe, we suggest that they listen to Minister Horace Chang’s “Beyond the Headlines” interview, on December 5, in which Dionne Jackson Miller valiantly sought to take the Government to task for the cruel and illegal summary deportations of Haitian refugees. Chang tried to drown out Dionne with loud denials and strident protestations about all of the wonderful assistance that Jamaica is supposedly providing for Haiti. In the heat of this verbal torrent, Minister Chang forgot himself and said the quiet part out loud: “The world has victimised Haiti,” he asserted, “and Jamaica is not going to take on that responsibility.” 

Bam! The Truth will out! Truly a jaw-dropping moment! After decades of pretence that the centuries-old international plot to oppress and destroy the Haitian people was nothing more than a conspiracy theory, finally a stunning admission from a high-level Caribbean official on national radio that not only is it common knowledge, but what’s more, it’s none of our business! 

So why all the hypocrisy on the part of CARICOM in jumping to take part in a supposed “Security support mission”, due to its deep concern for “the welfare of our Haitian brothers and sisters”, when Minister Chang’s inadvertent admission and the egregious inhumanity meted out to the refugees have proved time and again that the welfare of the Haitian people is the furthest thing from their minds? Simple. There’s money in it. Haiti is once again being sold on the auction block. 

ABYSMAL

The US and UN’s track record in Haiti is so abysmal that in order to maintain the moral high ground on Ukraine, their lips dripping with spurious platitudes advocating for the “democracy and self-determination” in Ukraine which they are blatantly crushing in Haiti, they have been forced to tour the world searching for fronts to hide behind to continue perpetrating their extermination plan against the Haitian people. All self-respecting nations turned down the dirty job. So in a vulgar show of yard fowl politics, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken started bandying about the ever-escalating hundreds of millions of dollars that have brought the CARICOM and Kenyan “volunteers” running to “rescue Haiti”. US Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary Blinken also made unprecedented trips to The Bahamas and Trinidad to meet with CARICOM Heads and promise myriad initiatives that will yield hundreds of millions more in economic benefits.

So, why couldn’t those hundreds of millions have been used over the last three years to stem the flow of guns, rendering the gangs inoperative; to train, equip, and pay the Haitian police and army; and to organise a disarmament and reinsertion campaign? Instead a special passport office was set up to facilitate at least 1,800 Haitian policemen to migrate to the US while they seek to impose 1,000 Kenyan policemen from a force that several human rights organisations and the US itself have condemned for shocking human-rights abuses, including the murder of 33 marchers last July. Now that the High Court of Kenya has ruled the deployment unconstitutional, it might not be too late to finally do the right thing vis-à-vis the Haitian police, rather than appealing the decision or trying to bulldoze the illegal deployment through anyway.

Those who were pretending not to know that Haiti was victimised are now pretending to believe that the oppressors who have reduced Haiti to blood and ashes have hired them for the very noble mission of stabilising Haiti and not as plantation overseers to enforce in their stead its continued victimisation. 

In the statement I delivered on behalf of the Haitian People to the Eminent Persons Group mandated by CARICOM to mediate the negotiations between the Haitian Stakeholders, I gave them a single guideline for their endeavour: to not show contempt for Haiti by trying to impose on her what they would not accept for their own countries. But that is precisely what CARICOM has done. They have even gone as far as to insult the Haitian People by thinking of the possibility of inviting gang leaders into the negotiations! 

WHAT MANNER OF MEN?

Once upon a time, CARICOM leaders were intellectual giants with moral authority and a deep sense of history from which they derived their principles, backbone, character, pride, and ensuing self-respect. In 2004, weathering threats and pressure from the State Department, CARICOM refused to sanction the coup d’état against democratically elected President Aristide by the US and France, opting instead to suspend Haiti from the Community for two years until a new president was democratically elected. 

It is hard to comprehend the vertiginous devolution of this new crop of CARICOM Heads, who for the most part, seem to have no other ambition than to ingratiate themselves to empire for economic gain. They have not been honest brokers. They have accepted to traffick in their own legitimacy to legitimise a criminal and illegal dictator, officially implicated in the assassination of his predecessor, who is presiding over the genocide of his own people. They have shielded Haiti’s tormentors by providing them with a black face for the outsourced repression of the Haitian people.

The late great journalist John Maxwell famously declared that what the Caribbean needs is a CARICOM of the people. The lionised sage had long ago recognised that the gallant People of the Caribbean were not to be confused with their leaders, who are mostly pursuing self-serving interests. The Haitian people do not want the occupation. The Caribbean people are against the occupation. The Kenyan people have rejected the occupation. They have all marched against it. But their so-called leaders are charging headlong with tunnel vision towards the lure of profit. 

It is a cruel irony that the Haitian people, who literally invented human rights and ultimately broke the chains of slavery off their neighbours’ feet are the ones being denied the right to live as human beings and being subjected to this day to a relentless struggle against re-enslavement. We call on all well-thinking persons, particularly the people of the Caribbean and Africa, to rise up for the liberation of Haiti on this her 220th anniversary of independence in this Decade for People of African Descent and to stand against the continued trampling of her sovereignty and constitution, which by the way, the would-be occupiers plan to unilaterally rewrite. 

History is not only written by the victors. It is also written by the survivors. Let us not allow our past to be a rebuke to our present, but rather to illuminate it. A generation that ignores history has no past and no future and will not be absolved by history.

Myrtha Désulmé is an advocate for Haiti. She is the founder and president of the Haiti-Jamaica Society and represents the Haitian Diaspora in the Montana Group, a civil society movement working to resolve the ongoing Haitian crisis. Send feedback to Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser. and Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser..

Several BSAP agents killed in La Boule

paptimesnewsFebruary 7, 2024

In the La Boule neighborhood located in the heights of Petion-ville, agents of the Brigade for Protected Areas Security (BSAP) fell into a brutal ambush by police members. The incident, which occurred this Wednesday, led to the death of several BSAP agents, despite no direct threat from them towards the police.

What makes this incident even more tragic is that the BSAP agents posed no direct threat to the police members.

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 25 janvier 2024

 
National Center of Haitian Apostolate 

REFLEXIONS - THIRD SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME YEAR B Jan 21, 2024

Jonah 3, 1-10; Psalm 25; 1 Cor. 7, 29-41; Mark 1, 14-20 

Msgr. Pierre André Pierre

On this third Sunday in the Ordinary Time of liturgical year B, the Church invites us to meditate on the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. The first action he takes is to call for disciples: Simon and Andrew, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were throwing their nets into the sea or repairing them. They leave everything and follow Jesus. For the moment, he only asks them for their goodwill, their character, and their free consent. They are fishermen. They will become fishers of men. Their presence around Jesus signals that the future of the Kingdom of God is looming on the horizon.

The so-called synoptic Gospels (Mark, Matthew, and Luke) begin the mission in Galilee. The Gospel of St John told us last Sunday that it all began on the banks of the Jordan River in Judea. In either case, it is Jesus who chooses, invites, and takes the initiative to add men to carry out the mission.

The purpose of the call is first to be with Jesus. Those called will become disciples. The time of fulfillment has come. The Kingdom of God is at hand. They will repent and believe in the Gospel. They will listen to it every day. They will eat and drink with Jesus. They will be associated with his different missionary activities. They will believe in the Good News of Salvation for all. They will learn from the Lord Jesus himself what they will later witness during their mission. At the Master's school, they will learn to experience and know the love of God, which has no measure.

In today's first reading, Jonah carries out the mission that God has entrusted to him, after many adventures, resistance, and fear in his stomach. Jonah does not believe that God loves all people, including aliens, and that He is the God of the universe. His presence is not limited to a place, a country, or a religion. He is universal. 

In the second reading, Paul reminds the Corinthians that the very near future of man is in the resurrected Christ. Too many tend to see this world as the only thing that counts. He recommends repentance and distancing oneself from passing goods. With Christ, the Kingdom of God is already inaugurated. It is not yet fully accomplished, but it is already there. The real priority is to be entirely focused on the definitive encounter with Christ. Like the first disciples, let us be prepared to give up our former way of life and follow Jesus unreservedly

This January 21, 2024, is also called: Sunday of the Word of God. It was established by Pope Francis in the year 2019. It is an invitation for all Christians to put the Bible, the Word of God, at the center of their lives. It is also the Sunday of the Annual Weekly Prayer for Christian Unity. With one accord, with all our Christian brothers and sisters around the world, and all people of goodwill, let us turn to the Lord and His Word. He can change our hearts. He will teach us the way of humility. He will fulfill all the desires of our hearts.

-- 

Msgr. Pierre André PIERRE

High-Profile gang leader faces trial in US for arms trafficking linked to Haiti violence

Dominicantoday.com - Haiti.- Germine Joly, known as “Yonyon,” a notorious Haitian gang leader, is facing trial in Washington, DC, on charges related to arms trafficking and laundering kidnapping ransoms. Extradited to the United States in May 2022, Joly is accused of smuggling firearms into Haiti, violating U.S. export laws, and using ransom proceeds to fund gang violence. This includes AK47 and M1A rifles, and ammunition capable of piercing police vehicles, sourced from gun dealers in Florida.

The trial of Joly, who once directed his gang’s operations from behind bars in Haiti, is expected to shed light on the operation of Haiti’s armed groups and the link between U.S. arms trafficking and gang violence in Haiti. Approximately 200 gangs control about 80% of Haiti’s capital, with their influence now spreading to rural areas.

Joly’s case, involving the importation of weapons purchased with kidnapping ransoms, highlights the transnational implications of local gang violence. The trial is seen as the United States’ response to gang-related violence in Haiti, especially following the high-profile kidnapping of 16 Americans and one Canadian by Joly’s gang, 400 Mawozo, in 2021.

Several other leaders of Haiti-based gangs are wanted in the U.S. for kidnappings since 2021. Joly is charged alongside three Florida residents involved in the purchase and smuggling of firearms for 400 Mawozo. Among them, Eliande Tunis is expected to plead guilty to related charges, while the status of the others remains uncertain.

The trial will also explore the connection between Joly, his gang, and the kidnappings they conducted, including that of the U.S.-based missionaries. The judge has ruled that the evidence of these connections is intrinsic to the case, as the government needs to prove that the firearms were bought with kidnapping ransoms.

This high-profile case underscores the complex interplay between local gang activities in Haiti and international crime, particularly the role of arms trafficking from the United States in exacerbating violence and insecurity in Haiti.

Haitian gang leader charged in kidnapping of American missionaries

By 

Louis Casiano, Fox News

The Justice Department has charged the leader of a violent Haitian gang in connection with the kidnappings of 16 American Christian missionaries last year, officials said Tuesday. 

Joly Germine, 29, who is also known as “Yonyon,” leads the 400 Mawozo gang and is the first person charged by federal prosecutors with having any involvement in the kidnapping. He was extradited to the United States last week and faces separate firearms tracking charges. 

“This case shows that the Justice Department will be relentless in our efforts to track down anyone who kidnaps a U.S. citizen abroad,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “We will utilize the full reach of our law enforcement authorities to hold accountable anyone responsible for undermining the safety of Americans anywhere in the world.”

A total of 17 people – 12 adults and five minors –were kidnaped on Oct. 16, 2021 after visiting an orphanage in Ganthier, just outside the capital of Port-au-Prince. Aside from one Canadian citizen, the group comprised Americans. 

Although he was imprisoned during the kidnappings, Germine directed the gang’s operations, which included ransom negotiations, according to an indictment. One of his goals was to get the Haitian government to release him from prison. 

While in prison, Germine was in regular contact with the captors, the Justice Department said. 

Twelve of the captive missionaries escaped during a daring overnight caper, eluding their kidnappers and walking for miles over difficult, moonlit terrain with an infant and other children in tow. The group navigated by stars to reach safety after a two-month kidnapping ordeal, according to officials with the Christian Aid Ministries, the Ohio-based agency that the missionaries work for.

Their captors initially demanded $1 million for each hostage, prosecutors said. It was not clear if any ransom was paid.

The 12 hostages who escaped were flown to Florida on a U.S. Coast Guard flight, and later reunited with the five hostages who had been released earlier.

He is expected to appear in federal court Wednesday.

Haiti gang leader boasted he was ‘king of kings,’ just needed bullets to wipe out country

By Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser.and

Updated January 18, 2024

WASHINGTON

Five days before a South Florida woman was arrested in Miami for shipping high-caliber weapons to one of Haiti’s largest and most violent gangs, she got an ominous warning: “They will catch you.”

The October 2021 warning came from inside Haiti’s National Penitentiary in Port-au-Prince, where Germine Joly, a notorious gang leader more commonly known by the nickname “Yonyon” was an inmate. Joly had just received a text with photos of weapons buried underneath clothes inside a blue barrel from Eliande Tunis, a Pompano Beach resident who had been managing the gang’s arms and ammunition purchases from gun dealers in Florida. 

The text was among 3,415 messages Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Seifert highlighted Thursday in opening statements at the start of Joly’s trial in federal court in Washington, D.C. Joly and Tunis, according to the prosecutor, also held 32 hours of phone conversations between them while Joly was incarcerated. Their conversations also occurred while 17 missionaries from an Ohio-based charity, Christian Aid Ministries, were being held captive by Joly’s 400 Mawozo gang on the eastern outskirts of the capital.

Although Joly is not on trial for the kidnapping of the missionaries in Haiti in October 2021, his role coordinating the brazen abduction is featured prominently in his weapons-smuggling conspiracy trial. As the first gang leader connected to the kidnapping to be extradited to the U.S., Joly is charged with 48 counts relating to violating U.S. export laws, weapons purchases and international money laundering. The most serious of the charges, violating U.S. export laws, carries up to 20 years in prison.

On Wednesday, co-defendant Tunis pleaded guilty to the entire 48-count indictment rather than go to trial. Though her attorney sked for a sentence between 51 and 63 months, the government is pushing for life imprisonment with a fine between $50,000 and $500,000. Two other defendants, Jocelyn Dor and Walder St. Louis, will also avoid trials. Dor pleaded guilty to six charges, including violating weapons export laws, as part of a plea agreement, and St. Louis will testify on behalf of the government against Joly. It remains unclear what charges he is pleading guilty to.

In laying out their weapons-smuggling case against Joly, who has waived his right for a jury and will be tried by the judge, Seifert described 400 Mawozo’s criminal business as a cycle of taking hostages for ransom, transferring the money to the U.S. to buy guns and having them smuggled into Haiti. Those guns, often powerful enough to pierce walls and police vehicles, were then used to grab more hostages and take control of more territory inside the impoverished country. 

As part of the government’s case, prosecutors showed a video of Joly’s birthday celebration inside the Haiti prison. He was wearing designer Fendi clothes, and during the clip, he said, his designer outfit was “worth thousands of dollars and bought in the U.S.”

The image, which went viral in Haiti at the time and during the missionaries’ 10th day in captivity, is far different from the portrait Joly’s defense presented during its presentation before U.S. District Judge John D. Bates.

Just a farmer

Attorney Elita Amato said Joly, 30, was just a farmer from Haiti’s rural countryside and not the dangerous gangster who directed arms purchases from behind prison walls. He was raised by “a nurturing family” of aunts and uncles in Haiti, she said, and given land to grow corn, peas and beans when he was old enough. 

He was also a commodities trader, Amato asserted, describing him as someone who gave back to his country by providing land for farmers to work. He owned tracts of land across Haiti and had relatives in the 400 Mawozo gang.

Amato said Joly had “limited access” to the outside from prison and did not direct gun purchases. As she spoke, Joly, wearing a black suit and tie, listened in with the help of interpreters. 

But Seifert said Joly was very much in control of 400 Mawozo’s criminal operations despite his imprisonment. He had access to multiple unmonitored cell phones while in the National Penitentiary, which he used to direct operations outside, including how much ransom to demand from families of kidnapped victims, where to transfer the money and what guns and ammunition to purchase from Florida gun dealers, she said. 

He was able to do so, the prosecutor said, because he had help from the likes of Tunis, a member of the gang living in South Florida who managed the arms purchases using two straw buyers, Jocelyn Dor and Walder St. Louis, who falsified purchase documents and shipped the weapons to Haiti. The guns were sometimes dismantled and hidden underneath clothing, shoes and Gatorade. Once, a shipment was marked “seafood.”

Those guns, the prosecution asserts, were purchased under orders from Joly with part of ransom money from kidnapped Americans. During one five-month period in which 400 Mawozo abducted several U.S. citizens at gunpoint as they traveled in its Croix-des-Bouquets territory, there were at least 21 wire transfers meant for gun purchases, prosecutors said. The money was sent from Haiti to the U.S., between May and October 2021, and totaled $37,500. 

The money was sometimes broken up into smaller amounts to avoid suspicion, and Joly, prosecutors said, kept track of all the transactions. Some of the money was transferred within hours of Joly issuing directions about the weapons.

The money went to Tunis as well as Dor and St. Louis in the U.S., the prosecution said.

Among the guns Joly told Tunis to buy was a Barrett M82A1, .50-cal. sniper rifle, powerful enough to pierce walls. Joly, in one of his exchanges with Tunis, said he could use the high-powered rifle “to do bad things.”

“These are big guns. You only need bullets to wipe out the whole country,” he said.

In their correspondence, Joly and Tunis didn’t just decide on weapons purchases and wire transfers, the prosecution said, Joly also boasted about kidnappings carried out by his gang.

In one instance, he told her, “We held him hostage right away.... We already cashed in.”

‘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.”

# This story was originally published January 18, 2024, 4:55 PM.

Shirsho Dasgupta is an investigative reporter at the Miami Herald DC Bureau. His stories, ranging from financial crime to Florida’s prison system, have received multiple awards and citations from Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Overseas Press Club, the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing, the Society of Professional Journalists (Florida and DC chapters) and others. He holds Master’s degrees in English and Journalism.

# Jacqueline Charles has reported on Haiti and the English-speaking Caribbean for the Miami Herald for over a decade. A Pulitzer Prize finalist for her coverage of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, she was awarded a 2018 Maria Moors Cabot Prize — the most prestigious award for coverage of the Americas.

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 31 décembre 2023

 Former Haitian senator sentenced to life in US prison for role in president’s assassination

CNN  —  none

A United States court on Tuesday (Dec. 19) sentenced a former Haitian senator to life in federal prison over his role in the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise.

Joseph Joel John was sentenced by the Miami federal court after he pleaded guilty in October to three charges, including conspiring to kill and kidnap a person outside the US, and providing material support and resources to carry out the plot to kill Moise. John was extradited from Jamaica in May 2022.

Moise was killed during an attack on his private residence in Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince on July 7, 2021. Haiti’s first lady, Martine Moise, was also shot but later recovered.

A probable cause affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint in 2022 alleges that John admitted to helping obtain vehicles and firearms in service of the plot. He also admitted to attending a meeting with co-conspirators a day before Moise was assassinated, according to an affidavit from an FBI agent.

John was the third man charged in connection to Moise’s assassination, according to the US Department of Justice. Mario Antonio Palacios and Rodolphe Jaar were both arrested and charged in 2022.

Jarr, a Haitian-Chilean national, was sentenced to life in June after an earlier guilty plea on three counts, including conspiracy to commit murder or kidnapping outside the US and providing material support resulting in death, according to the plea agreement.

Court records show Palacios, a Colombian national, is scheduled to appear in court later this month.

A number of Haitian American citizens and at least 20 Colombians participated in the plot, according to the Department of Justice.

Haiti has seen deepening unrest since Moise’s assassination, with the spread of gangs and a wave of violence that has swept the impoverished Caribbean nation. Moise’s successor, Prime Minister Ariel Henry, has so far struggled to staunch the violence.

Attacks carried out by gangs on rival villages have included beheadings, rapes, and kidnappings, according to a report released last month by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Integrated Office in Haiti.

In October, the UN Security Council approved the deployment of a multinational support mission to help Haiti’s national police fight gang violence, with Kenya taking a leading role and pledging 1,000 police to the mission.

However, the announcement did not specify when the security forces would arrive in Haiti, and the deployment has been tied up by legal challenges.

Ex-Colombian Soldier Pleads Guilty in 2021 Assassination of Haiti's President

VOA News —

A former Colombian soldier pleaded guilty Friday to conspiring in the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, which plunged the Caribbean nation into violence and political turmoil. 

Mario Antonio Palacios Palacios, 45, pleaded guilty to three charges, including conspiracy to commit murder or kidnapping outside the United States, during a brief hearing before federal Judge Jose E. Martinez. Seated next to his attorney, Alfredo Izaguirre, Palacios answered "Yes, your honor," in Spanish when the judge asked if he was pleading guilty. 

Palacios is the fifth of 11 defendants in Miami to plead guilty in the 2021 assassination. 

As part of a deal with prosecutors, he agreed to cooperate with the investigation and to plead guilty. He could get up to life in prison when he's sentenced March 1, but under the deal, prosecutors conceded that he played a minor role in the plot. 

"He didn't know what he was going to get into. He wasn't part of the plan," Izaguirre told reporters after the hearing. "He didn't recruit anybody. He didn't [have] any decision-making authority in regards to the conspiracy. I think the government understands." 

According to prosecutors, the conspirators initially planned to kidnap the Haitian president but later decided to kill him. They say the plotters had hoped to win contracts under Moise's successor. About 20 former Colombian soldiers and several dual Haitian American citizens participated in the plot, authorities say. 

National Center of Haitian Apostolate

REFLECTIONS - FOURTH SUNDAY - ADVENT A (December 24, 2023)

2 Samuel 7, 1-12; Psalm 89; Romans 16, 25-27; Luke 1, 26-38

Msgr. Pierre André Pierre

Sunday Dec 24 is the fourth Sunday of Advent. Tomorrow is Christmas. We celebrate the arrival of Jesus. We remember that he has already come in miserable conditions during the first Christmas. He came to a country oppressed by a foreign army. He continues to come to the tormented world that is ours today. He does not come to solve our immediate earthly problems but to free ourselves from the slavery of sin that diverts us from God.

This coming of God was already announced. At the time, when the Ark of the Covenant was the symbol of the presence of God in the midst of his people, King David wished for God a grand house (cf. First reading, in 2 Samuel 7, 1-12,). But God makes him understand that he does not need a grandiose temple. In the light of the Gospels, Christians will understand that the only real temple is Jesus himself. In Jesus, it is God who makes himself present in each of us.

In the second reading, (Romans 16, 25-27) the apostle Paul addresses the persecuted Christians of Rome. Despite the many trials that overwhelm them, they had to learn to trust. They must never forget that God who became a man in the person of Jesus. This good news was "brought to the knowledge of pagan peoples to lead them to the obedience of faith". In Jesus, God comes to them to get them out of the aimless life that was their own way. Following Paul and the whole Church, we give thanks to God for this wonder.

In the Gospel of this day, we have heard the narrative of the Annunciation or rather that of the vocation of Mary. The Angel Gabriel goes to her house in Nazareth. He tells her that God has chosen her to be the mother of His Son. And Marie replies freely: "I am the servant of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word". 

This gospel is a response to first reading. God does not want to live in a grand house. His great desire is to live in the hearts of men. He is “Emmanuel”, God with us. He wants us to become familiar with his presence and that we traveled together towards his kingdom of eternity. He invites us to be in communion of love with him and with all our brothers. It all started very humbly, in Nazareth, a small village that no one had ever heard of. Mary replied yes to the call of God. She freely agreed to be the "servant of the Lord". She served humanity by giving carrying to the world The One who came among us for the salvation of all humankind. This is the reason why we wish each other a Merry Christmas.

Caribbean Studies Association

December 2023 Edition

Message from the President

Okama Ekpe-Brook

Dear Esteemed Members,

As the 2023 year draws to a close, I want to take this opportunity to appreciate being able to serve you as your president. It has been an incredible six months of progressive accomplishments enabled through hard work together with the Executive Council, appointed members, our secretariat, working group members, volunteers, partners and our local organizing committee members in St. Lucia. As you may have been reading over the Newsletter articles of the past months, our activities since June this year have focused on preparations for a robust 48th annual conference and 50th anniversary celebrations and a plethora of major accomplishments including kickstarting our CSA Dialogue Series; monthly meetings of the Council; negotiated conference location and hotel in St. Lucia; timely launch of the abstract submission portal; launch of our first ever CSA merchandise e-commerce store; issuance of the CSA statement on the Gaza/Israel humanitarian crisis; renewal of our CSA Memorandum of Understanding with the University of the West Indies; launch of our CSA Journal; formation of ad-hoc committees  and close engagement with development partners in the bilateral, multilateral, community based and civil society organizations, private sector and the academia. In all of these activities, I am very proud of the level of engagement of your elected officials on the Council in driving these accomplishments and in opening out communications with the membership. I look forward to continuing to chart the course for a renewed CSA influence on Caribbean developments and sustainability. All of these offer opportunities for strategic partnerships and transformations in this paradigm shift.

A few reminders for you during this holiday season. Please ensure to submit your individual abstracts, panels abstract, round tables and workshops. The deadline is December 31st for the submission. The St. Lucia conference is geared towards bringing us all together to have conversations and human connectivity. Use this to submit your abstract: https://www.caribbeanstudiesassociation.org/2024-csa-conference-call-for-abstracts

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 14 décembre 2023

 
Strategic Kenya-Haiti Meeting on the Deployment of the Multinational Force

paptimesnewsDecember 6, 2023

An atmosphere imbued with enthusiasm prevailed as Haitian Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, warmly welcomed a distinguished delegation from Kenya. Comprising Kenyan diplomats and American envoys, this delegation meticulously laid the foundation for a new era of diplomatic cooperation between the two nations.

Discussions between the delegation and Prime Minister Henry delved into uncharted territories, placing emphasis on collaboration across diverse domains. The primary goal was to forge robust connections for a mutually beneficial partnership, diverging from the well-trodden paths of traditional diplomacy.

In addition to fruitful exchanges with the Prime Minister, the delegation engaged in constructive dialogues with the Director General of Police, Frantz Elbe, as well as prominent members of the Transitional High Council. These meetings unveiled unprecedented prospects for cooperation in security and coordination, serving as pivotal elements in the establishment of a enduring relationship.

It is worth noting that the Minister of Justice and the Director General of Police are gearing up for an upcoming visit to Kenya. This promising initiative aims to solidify bilateral ties and finalize essential logistical details for future mutually advantageous endeavors. A new era of diplomatic partnership seems to be unfolding, promising stimulating opportunities for both nations.

3rd Annual HELP-BFA Scholarship Dinner

Hello Friends,

It is with great pleasure that I invite you to join us on January 6th in Miami at The Citadel for our 3rd Annual HELP BFA Scholarship Fund dinner. It promises to be an evening of fun: good food, good music, open bar and above all wonderful company.

Despite the challenging situation in Haiti these days, we forge ahead soundly in the knowledge that the talented, motivated, young students whose education we support today will be the leaders that drive sustained economic growth and stability for Haiti tomorrow. And with respect to that effort, we do have wonderful news to share as we approach the $1 million raised milestone for the scholarship fund. All of which goes directly to the education of Haiti's brightest youth in need. Find out more about our progress here: BFA Scholarship Fund with HELP homepage

This amazing effort has only been made possible through your kind and generous support!

So with that, consider this your formal invitation to come celebrate with us - and give me the opportunity to thank you in person.

Where: The Citadel Miami

When: January 6th, 6:30-9pm

RSVP here: RSVP for 3rd Annual BFA Scholarship Dinner with HELP

Guests and friends are more than welcome.

Looking forward to seeing you,

Karl

National Center of Haitian Apostolate 

REFLECTIONS ON THE 2nd SUNDAY OF ADVENT 10-12-23

Isaiah 40, 1-11; Psalm 84; 2 Peter 3, 8-14; Mark 1, 1-8

Msgr. Pierre André Pierre

https://youtu.be/7tLSUuRef4Y?si=XKhPhAfarXY6bEzB

In the Desert Prepare the Way for the Lord. This Second Sunday of Advent brings us closer to welcoming Christ into our communities and the world at Christmas. For many people, Christmas looks like a routine that Christians repeat every year. In the Liturgy, on the contrary, the Church makes us live the mystery of our salvation in Jesus Christ. It includes a teaching and a responsibility: Only God’s grace saves humankind; as a responsibility, everyone must be involved.

Isaiah announces a consolation for God's people if they repent. Unfaithful though they are, when in their sufferings they cry out to God, He delivers them, in the desert and during the exile and imprisonment in Babylon: "Comfort, give comfort to my people, says the Lord... A voice cries out: "In the desert, prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!" Cry out the good news: "Here is your God." He cares for his people as a Shepherd protects his flock. 

Psalm 85 insists that we repent and turn back to the God of salvation. The Lord has shown patience with us. In his second Letter, St. Peter reminds us that God gives us a lifetime for conversion. The Lord does not delay his promise. He will come unexpectedly. He offers us, however, a thousand opportunities to prepare for His coming. He is patient with us, not wishing that anyone should perish but that all should come to repentance. He wants everyone to be saved.

This Good News is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. St. Mark affirms this truth in his gospel, in a very simple way, without Angels, or music, or shepherds near Bethlehem. He takes back what the Prophet Isaiah said about the Desert People. The messenger is John the Baptist preaching in the desert a baptism of conversion: "Prepare the way of the Lord." Make his paths straight. John brings an additional light on the Savior. He is not even worthy to untie his sandals. He who comes after me will baptize us in the Holy Spirit.” Conversion and sincere repentance are indispensable conditions for salvation.

Our responsibility is to prepare ourselves. How are we preparing for the second coming of Jesus? What do we do to spread the Good News of love, justice, and peace? In our activities, attitudes, and relationships, do we walk the path of integrity and fidelity, of trust in God and trust in each other? Do we remember that confession is also a path? Are we spiritually connected to God in prayer? Are we serious about the importance of Jesus' return? Can we say: "Here is our God," in whose name we work to make this earth new? John the Baptist calls us to lead a life of repentance and conversion. His bath of purification will prepare us for the return of Jesus. Let's decide to welcome him as the good shepherd who can lead us on the road to happiness that this life cannot give. Christmas will make us discover the greatness, beauty, and love of the one who is coming.

Thursday, December 07, 2023

New book explores Rwanda's development model

Patrick Nzabonimpa 
Thursday, December 07, 2023

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Fourteen local and international experts across various fields have collaborated to co-author “Rwanda: A Model for Haiti”, an anthology of essays that explores the ‘Rwandan model’ and its constituents that could potentially and intelligently be emulated in Haiti.

Compiled and edited by Joe E. Sully, a Haitian-American author, and journalist, the collaborative book presents a wealth of ideas, expert opinions, and data, drawing parallels between Rwanda’s success story and the challenges and opportunities facing Haiti.

The contributing authors span the fields of diplomacy, economics, technology, education, culture, politics, reconciliation, and national unity, among others.

Some copies of the newly launched book entitled 'Rwanda a model for Haiti

The ones from Rwanda include Marie Immaculee Ingabire, the Chairperson of Transparency International Rwanda; Richard Hategekimana, the Chairman of the Rwanda Writers Federation; Viateur Ndikumana, the Vice Chancellor of Kibogora Polytechnic University; Callixte Kabera, the Vice Chancellor of East Africa University and Epimaque Twagirimana, the Vice Chairperson of Pan-African Movement Rwanda Chapter.

Other contributing authors and experts include Indran Amirthanayagam, Sri Lankan-American poet-diplomat, Dimitri Bien-Aimé, an international affairs and development practitioner, Aurore François, a life coach and educational consultant, Huguens Jean, a software models specialist and electrical engineer; João Melo, an author, professor and former Angolan Government official, Hillary Thomas-Lake, specialist in conflict management, post-conflict reconstruction and state-society relations, Marc-Arthur Pierre-Louis, software engineer and author, as well as Jessica Xiao, a writer, and journalist.

According to Sully, also the founder of Bridgevision Production, an American communication, publishing, and production company, the inspiration for the anthology comes from the “remarkable progress Rwanda has achieved since the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.”

Having visited the country in January, Sully was impressed by the combination of modern infrastructure and traditional life in Rwanda, embodying the vision of the government.

“I’ve read books about Rwanda and the leadership, particularly President Paul Kagame, but I had the opportunity to come here to see with my own eyes, the manifestation, a realisation of the vision behind the government of this country,” he said.

Participants pose for a group photo at a pre- launch event in Kigali on December 3.

Wanting to share the story credibly, Sully brought together the experts with the goal of explaining Rwanda’s model, showcasing the country’s transformation from a post-genocide economy loss of over 40 per cent to becoming one of the most stable places in Africa.

“We’re trying to explain that so that the world, the people in Washington D.C., where I’m based, can know about that story,” he said.

Sully further highlighted the belief that Rwanda could serve as a model for Haiti and other developing nations’ reconstruction efforts, citing the intelligent strategies implemented since 1994.

“Rwanda: A Model for Haiti,” he added, also aims to promote a sense of pan-Africanism and unity among black people, drawing parallels between the experiences of Haiti and Rwanda.

In addition to a poem penned by Indran Amirthanayagam, which reflects on the Rwandan experience and draws connections between Rwanda and Haiti, the anthology primarily comprises essays covering various aspects including insights into the Rwandan education system, the nation’s economy, efforts towards national unity and reconciliation, diplomatic strategies, and Rwanda’s utilisation of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to shape its foreign policy.

The anthology also delves into intelligent governance practices, emphasising transparency, anti-corruption measures, and other pertinent topics.

“Rwanda: A Model for Haiti” was unveiled in Rwanda on December 3, with a private book launch event dedicated to acknowledging the contributors from Rwanda. Plans for the book’s distribution include an official launch in Rwanda and various states across the USA, among other locations, according to Sully.

The hard copies of the book are available at the Bridgevision Production Rwanda office in Kimihurura, as well as Ikirezi and Caritas libraries. It is also available on Amazon.