Wilson Joseph is a Haitian national who is the alleged leader of the Haiti 400 Mawozo street gang. He was seen in a video released Thursday claiming that if he doesn’t get what he wants, he will kill them. He sought a total of $17 million, one million dollars for each of the kidnapped victims.
Wilson Joseph is seen in a video released on social media sporting a blue suit, a blue cap, and a huge crucifix around his neck.
“If I don’t receive what I’m asking for, I swear by thunder that I will put a bullet in the heads of these Americans,” he claimed in the video.
As he talked in front of open coffins containing numerous members of his gang who were just killed, he also threatened Prime Minister Ariel Henry and Haiti’s National Police Chief, Léon Charles.
“You guys make me cry,” says the narrator. Water is what I scream. “However, I’m going to make you cry blood,” he continued.
Authorities reported earlier this week that the gang was asking $1 million per person, though it wasn’t clear whether that included the five children in the group, one of whom was just eight months old. Sixteen Americans and one Canadian, as well as their Haitian driver, were kidnapped.
The missionaries are from Christian Aid Ministries in Ohio, which conducted a press conference before the gang leader’s video was broadcast online.
