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The 400 Mawozo is the largest gang in Haiti, mainly based in Ganthier and in the Port-au-Prince suburbs of Tabarre and Pétion-Ville. It largely consists of deportees, former leaders of opposition groups, former smugglers and police officers. In 2022, it aligned itself with "G-Pep" after its leader was extradited to the United States.[1] It came to international attention in October 2021 when it kidnapped U.S. citizens acting as missionaries in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.[2][3]
| Founded | c. 2020 |
|---|---|
| Years active | c. 2020–present |
| Territory | Ganthier, Tabarre and Pétion-Ville, Port-au-Prince, Haiti |
| Ethnicity | Haitian |
| Leader(s) | Wilson "Lanmò Sanjou" Joseph |
| Activities | Murder, rape, kidnapping |
| Allies |
|
| Rivals |
On Saturday, 16 October 2021, 17 Christian missionaries from the Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries were abducted by 400 Mawozo.[4] Typically, after a kidnapping, the gang makes a demand for a ransom. In a previous kidnapping, in April 2021, the group demanded $1 million apiece for the release of Catholic missionaries.[5] The gang's name, loosely translated from Creole, means 400 simpletons, or untrained men. Although kidnappings have been its new trade, the gang is known for threatening the use of rape and assassination to maintain power over the areas it controls.[6] According to former Haitian Senator Jean Renel Senatus, who headed the justice and security commission, the group was originally called "Texas" and was known for holding up residents and stealing motorcycles. Senatus himself had also received death threats from the group.[7] Their alleged leader is Wilson Joseph who goes by the nickname "Lanmò San Jou" or "Lanmò Sanjou", which literally means "death knows no days." He flaunted the arrest warrant against him in online videos detailing his group's crimes.[8] The group's second-in-command is Joly "Yonyon" Germine, who is currently incarcerated.[6]
On 16 December 2021, the Haitian justice minister announced that all the captives had been freed. Later it was found out that they had escaped.[9] Several of the captives had been freed in earlier weeks.
On 7 November 2022, the United States Department of State announced reward offers of up to US$1,000,000 each for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Lanmò Sanjou and two other Haitian gang leaders—Jermaine Stephenson, or Gaspiyay; and Vitel'Homme Innocent—for their roles in the kidnappings.[10][11][12] Innocent was added to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's list of Most Wanted Fugitives in November 2023.[13]
On 13 March 2024, YourFellowArab (Addison Pierre Maalouf), a YouTube personality known for touring dangerous places, was kidnapped on his way to interview Jimmy Chérizier. Members of the 400 Mawozo gang demanded a ransom of $600,000 for his release. The U.S. State Department confirmed that a U.S. citizen had been kidnapped.[14] Maalouf was released unharmed later that month.[15][16]
In April–May 2022, clashes between the rival gangs, 400 Mawozo and Chen Mechan, occurred in the Plain of the Cul-de-Sac area.[17] In December 2023, Joseph Wilson and three other gang leaders, including Vitel'Homme Innocent, became subject to UN sanctions.[18]
According to Insight Crime, 400 Mawozo was feared in 2022 because of their innovative methods, in particular "express kidnapping", but also for the "high-powered weaponry, participation criminal economies, and political connections" which permit all gangs to prosper in Haiti. In 2022, their control of Croix-des-Bouquets extended to the prison, the voting station, and the only route connecting Port-au-Prince to the north of the island. In addition to truck hijackings, they are involved in smuggling contraband and the traffic of drugs, arms, and people along the border with the Dominican Republic.[19] On 1 February 2024, Joly Germine, the self-proclaimed "king" of the 400 Mawozo gang, pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court to smuggling arms[20] such as "AK-47s, AR-15s, an M4 carbine rifle, an M1A rifle, and a .50 caliber rifle, described by the ATF as a military weapon," into Haiti, piloting the operation from a Haitian prison.[21]
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