Authorities on Tuesday said that a powerful Haitian gang leader has been accused by US prosecutors with ordering the kidnapping of an American couple from their home in Haiti, which resulted in the woman’s death.
Vitel’Homme Innocent, who is still at large and is thought to be in Tabarre, Haiti, was also charged last year in the kidnappings of Christian missionaries in 2021.
In Haiti, where gangs are more powerful than the government and have bigger and better weaponry than the police, the accusations are mostly symbolic. Gang leaders have previously ignored UN sanctions and criminal charges brought by US federal authorities in order to continue operating with impunity.
Armed gang members raided Jean Franklin and Marie Odette Franklin’s home in October 2022, and Marie Franklin was shot and killed in the kidnapping. Her husband, Jean, was detained for 21 days before being released after ransom payments were paid to the gang on his family’s behalf, according to officials.
Innocent has no US attorney identified in court filings, and he could not be reached for comment on the claims.
US authorities are offering a $1 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Innocent, the leader of the notorious Kraze Barye gang in Port-au-Prince.
“Vitel’Homme has wrecked particular havoc on US citizens abroad and the people of Haiti by consistently targeting innocent civilians for kidnappings and collaborating with other gangs within Haiti,” said US Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves. He did not elaborate on how Innocent could be brought to the United States, where he could face the death penalty if convicted.
“Neither time nor distance will weaken our resolve,” said Jeffrey Veltri, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Miami field office, which conducted the investigation.
Last year, federal prosecutors in Washington charged Innocent in connection with the kidnappings of 16 US Christian missionaries, including five children, in 2021. According to Graves, the most of them were held captive for more than two months before fleeing.
The latest indictment by the US Justice Department charges Innocent with conspiracy to commit hostage taking resulting in death, aiding and abetting hostage taking, and attempted hostage taking resulting in death.
Kraze Barye, which translates approximately as “Breaking Barriers,” controls the Tabarre neighborhood in central Port-au-Prince, as well as areas of Petionville and Croix-des-Bouquets.
According to a recent report given to the United Nations Security Council, it has 600 members and is known for crimes such as murders, rapes, robberies, kidnappings, and drug and arms trafficking.
“Kraze Barye has become one of the most powerful gangs in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, with an increasing number of fighters and semi-automatic weapons,” according to the study.
It was also mentioned that Kraze Barye is one of the few gangs that recruit the most minors, and its boss is infamous for kidnapping prominent persons.
Kraze Barye has formed an alliance with G-Pep, a larger and more powerful gang.
Kidnappings and murders continue to rise as gangs thought to control up to 80% of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, become increasingly strong.
According to the United Nations, more than 700 people were kidnapped in Haiti between July 1 and September 30, a 244% rise over the same time previous year.
Meanwhile, over 1,230 persons were reported dead over those months, more than doubling the number killed during the same period last year.
Among those kidnapped recently is the secretary general of Haiti’s High Transitional Council, which is in charge of organizing the long-delayed national elections. Last week, gang members posing as police officers kidnapped Anthony Virginie Saint-Pierre, according to authorities.
Haiti is awaiting the deployment of a multinational armed force commanded by Kenya to assist in quelling gang violence that has overburdened police, with just around 4,000 officers on duty at any given moment in a country of more than 11 million people.
