U.S. charges Haitian for role in 2021 kidnapping of missionaries

The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday said it had charged a Haitian gang member with hostage-taking for his role in the kidnapping of 16 American missionaries last year.

Jean Pelice was transferred into U.S. custody on May 16 and the criminal complaint was unsealed on Thursday, according to the statement from the department.

In May, a Haitian gang leader became the first defendant charged in the crime that brought global attention to the power of gangs in the Caribbean nation.