An alleged gang member accused of kidnapping U.S. citizens in Haiti has been extradited to the U.S. to face charges, authorities said Tuesday.
Jhon Peter Fleronvil was “a member of the ‘kokorat san Ras’ gang,” the Coordination of Press and Public Relations of the Haitian National Police (PNH) wrote in a tweet announcing the extradition. “Kokorat san Ras” is Haitian Creole for “Cohort without Race.”
Fleronvil was attempting to flee Haiti to the neighboring Dominican Republic when he was arrested on Sept. 11, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a statement. He was arrested in the northern coastal commune of Fort Liberte, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
The DOJ identified Fleronvil as one of the leaders of the “Kokorat san Ras” gang and charged Fleronvil and co-leader Jean Renald Dolcin on Nov. 7 with the armed kidnapping-for-ransom of three Americans in July 2022, per the statement. They allegedly received ransom first for a married couple, whom they held for six days, and then for the third American, who was also held for about six days, the statement explained.
🚨 Extradition vers les États-Unis du nommé Jhon Peter Fleronvil, membre du gang “kokorat san Ras”
CPRP
–#pnhhaiti pic.twitter.com/4dvbmL0XF9— PNH (@pnh_officiel) November 21, 2023
The DOJ also unsealed criminal charges against five other gang leaders: 40-year-old leader Renel Destina of the Gran Ravine gang for the kidnapping-for-ransom of an American in Feb. 2021, 30-year-old Emanuel Solomon of the Village de Dieu gang for the kidnapping-for-ransom of an American in Jan. 2021, Lanmo Sanjou (“Joseph Wilson”) and Jermaine Stephenson (“Gaspiyay”) of the 400 Mawozo gang for kidnapping 16 American Christian missionaries in the fall of 2021 and 36-year-old Vitel’homme Innocent of the Kraze Barye gang for partaking in the missionaries’ kidnapping. (RELATED: Four Dead After Suspect Traps Victims In A Hostage Situation)
The DOJ previously charged 29-year-old Joly Germine (“Yonyon”) with the missionaries’ kidnapping back in May, shortly after his extradition to the U.S., a separate statement noted. Germine, also facing gunrunning charges, allegedly directed the kidnapping and eventual ransom negotiations from within a Haitian prison. The gang intended to use the kidnapping to force Germine’s release from prison, per DOJ.
Five children, one of them only eight months old, were among the missionaries kidnapped Oct. 16, 2021, the DOJ noted.