The former head of the notorious Haitian gang 400 Mawozo was sentenced on Wednesday in a U.S. court to life in prison for masterminding the 2021 kidnapping of a group of American missionaries.

Joly "Yonyon" Germine, 34, was found guilty in May following a 10-day trial of one count of conspiracy to commit hostage-taking and 16 counts of kidnapping a U.S. national for ransom, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. Germine, who has been in U.S. custody since May 2022, had previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 35 years in prison for his role in smuggling U.S. firearms to Haiti and laundering ransom money paid to his gang for other abductions.

Under the sentence he received on Wednesday, in U.S. District Court in Washington, he will not be eligible for

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