The U.S. Government has offered rewards for information leading to the arrest of three gang leaders accused of fomenting violence in Haiti and insists on the importance of bringing them to justice.
«I am announcing these rewards of up to $1 million each for information leading to the arrest or conviction of three Haitian nationals, Lanmo Sanjou, Jermaine Stephenson and Vitel’Homme Innocent,» said Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement.
In this regard, he pointed out that all of them have been charged with «conspiring to be part of transnational organized crime.» «We are charging these three individuals,» he said.
He recalled that the gang to which the three allegedly belong, 400 Mawozo, was involved in the kidnapping of 16 American missionaries who were abducted in October 2021 after visiting an orphanage in the town of Ganthier, east of Port-au-Prince. Among them were five children.
«The United States supports the efforts of Haitian security forces to establish order in Haiti and combat organized crime, which remains a major factor in the worsening security and humanitarian situation in the country,» he said.
In this sense, he affirmed that «these actions are part of the commitment of the United States to help the Haitian people to get out of the serious crisis» in which the country has been plunged.