Ironically, his name is Vitel’homme Innocent and he’s currently on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list with a reward of $2 million out for information leading to his arrest. This morning CNN published an interview with Innocent who leads one of the largest gangs in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
In his first interview with foreign press, Innocent did not deny the deaths, the arson, the rape or the kidnappings committed by the city’s allied gangs, and told CNN that he has made some mistakes. But he framed the recent months of deadly street violence as collateral damage. Deaths, both accidental and extrajudicial, have also been caused by the police, he points outs, claiming they refuse to engage in dialogue…
Innocent, 37, portrays the broad alliance of gangs attacking Haiti’s institutions as a progressive venture. “Our dream is to get rid of the oligarchs who prevent the country from progressing,” he said of the gang coalition that calls itself Viv Ansanm or “Live Together.”
Every creep becomes a progressive on a mission to save the world when he gets caught. But innocent supports himself by kidnapping people.
Marie-Lucie Bonhomme Opont, 55, a well-known radio and television journalist who once lived in Tabarre, has a different view of what transformed the neighborhood to the desolate place it is today.
She was robbed by Kraze Baryé members in June last year, she says, then kidnapped and brought to meet Innocent himself. “It was the middle of the night, and I was sleeping, when suddenly I heard a tremendous commotion downstairs,” she recalls. “Around 30 armed people broke into my house and began to pillage it, taking things, even food from the kitchen.”…
Eventually they came to a stop in the dark. Opont tells CNN that Innocent himself then came to her car and asked her if she recognized his voice. “Of course I did,” she says. “He used to give press conferences and was very active on social media.”
She was released the next day but a week later the same gang kidnapped her husband and held him until his family paid a ransom. Once he was released the couple moved out of the area. The gang is wanted by the US for the kidnapping of an American couple in 2022, one of whom wound up dead.
Vitel’homme Innocent ordered gang members to kidnap Jean Franklin and Marie Odette Franklin from their home in Haiti on October 7, 2022. On that date, armed gang members forced entry into the Franklin residence and attempted to kidnap the couple by force. During the kidnapping, Marie Odette Franklin was shot and killed by the gang members. Her husband was taken into captivity and held at an undisclosed location in Haiti. While Jean Franklin was in captivity, Vitel’homme Innocent participated in ransom negotiations in exchange for Jean Franklin’s release. Jean Franklin was released from captivity on October 28, 2022, following ransom payments made to the gang on behalf of his family.
And before that, he was charged with kidnapping a group of missionaries which included children:
The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday announced criminal charges against seven Haitian gang leaders for the kidnappings of numerous U.S. citizens, including Christian missionaries and children.
The missionaries were part of a group of 16 U.S. citizens, most of whom were held captive for 61 days before escaping. The group included five children, the Justice Department said in a news release.
But sure, he’s really trying to get rid of the oligarchs by terrorizing Christian missionaries and their kids. Here’s the full CNN interview with gang leader Innocent.