Haitian ex-mayor gets nine years in US prison for visa fraud tied to political violence
BOSTON (Reuters) -A former Haitian mayor was sentenced on Friday to nine years in a U.S. prison after being convicted of illegally obtaining a green card allowing him to reside in the United States by concealing his role in a brutal campaign to kill and torture his political opponents.
Jean Morose Viliena, 53, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor in Boston after a jury in March found him guilty of committing what prosecutors in court papers said was "the most egregious type of immigration fraud."
They had urged Saylor to sentence him to 10 years in prison, saying a lengthy sentence would "provide justice to the survivors and families of the victims who continue to suffer the effects of the defendant's persecution and concealment."
Prosecutors charged Viliena with visa fraud a day after a jury in a civil case in 2023 ordered the former mayor of the rural Haitian town of Les Irois to pay $15.5 million to three Haitians who accused him of persecuting them or their families.
Viliena, who at the time of his indictment was working as a truck driver and living in Malden, Massachusetts, has maintained his innocence throughout the litigation. He is appealing the civil verdict and can appeal his conviction as well.
His lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.
Prosecutors said that in applying for a visa in 2008, Viliena affirmed on a form that he had not "ordered, carried out or materially assisted in extrajudicial and political killings and other acts of violence against the Haitian people."
In fact, Viliena, after being elected to a four-year term as mayor of Les Irois in December 2006, personally committed or ordered the maiming, harm, humiliation or death of his adversaries, prosecutors alleged.
They said the victims include the three Haitians who pursued the earlier lawsuit, David Boniface, Juders Yseme and Nissage Martyr.
That case was filed in 2017 under the Torture Victim Protection Act, which allows for U.S. lawsuits against foreign officials accused of extrajudicial killings or torture when avenues for redress in their home countries are exhausted.
Prosecutors said Viliena in 2007 led a group of armed men to Boniface's home who then beat and fatally shot his brother, and later mobilized a group in 2008 that beat and shot Martyr and Yseme at a community radio station.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Russia Strikes Western Ukraine, 2 Killed in Chernivtsi
KYIV: Russia launched a new barrage of drones and missiles in an overnight attack on Ukraine on Saturday, targeting the west of the country and killing at least two people in the city of Chernivtsi on the border with Romania. Western Ukrainian cities of Lviv, Lutsk, and Chernivtsi suffered the most due to the Russian attacks, and other Ukrainian regions were also hit, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said. 'Russia continues to escalate its terror, launching another barrage of hundreds of drones and missiles, damaging residential areas, killing and injuring civilians,' Sybiha said in a post on X, reiterating the call for stronger sanctions against Moscow. 'Russia's war machine produces hundreds of means of terror per day. Its scale poses a threat not only to Ukraine, but to the entire transatlantic community.' Ruslan Zaparaniuk, the governor of the Chernivetskyi region, said that two people were killed and 14 others wounded as Russian drones and a missile struck the city, located about 40 kilometres (24 miles) from Ukraine's border with Romania. Several fires broke out across the city, and residential houses and administrative buildings were damaged, regional officials said. In the city of Lviv, on Ukraine's border with Poland, 46 residential houses, a university building, the city's courts, and about 20 buildings housing small and medium-sized businesses were damaged in the attack, mayor Andriy Sadovyi said- REUTERS
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Russia's drones and missile barrage targets Ukraine's west, kills two
KYIV: Russia launched a new barrage of drones and missiles in an overnight attack on Ukraine on Saturday, targeting the west of the country and killing at least two people in the city of Chernivtsi on the border with Romania. Western Ukrainian cities of Lviv, Lutsk, and Chernivtsi suffered the most due to the Russian attacks, and other Ukrainian regions were also hit, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said. 'Russia continues to escalate its terror, launching another barrage of hundreds of drones and missiles, damaging residential areas, killing and injuring civilians,' Sybiha said in a post on X, reiterating the call for stronger sanctions against Moscow. 'Russia's war machine produces hundreds of means of terror per day. Its scale poses a threat not only to Ukraine, but to the entire transatlantic community.' Ruslan Zaparaniuk, the governor of the Chernivetskyi region, said that two people were killed and 14 others wounded as Russian drones and a missile struck the city, located about 40 kilometres (24 miles) from Ukraine's border with Romania. Several fires broke out across the city, and residential houses and administrative buildings were damaged, regional officials said. In the city of Lviv, on Ukraine's border with Poland, 46 residential houses, a university building, the city's courts, and about 20 buildings housing small and medium-sized businesses were damaged in the attack, mayor Andriy Sadovyi said- REUTERS
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
US senators warn Nvidia CEO about upcoming China trip
SAN FRANCISCO: A bipartisan pair of US senators sent a letter to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (pic) on Friday (July 11) about an upcoming trip to China, warning the CEO to refrain from meeting with companies that are suspected of undermining US chip export controls. The letter from Republican Senator Jim Banks and Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren asked Huang to also abstain from meeting with representatives of companies that are working with the People's Republic of China's military or intelligence bodies. The senators also asked Huang to refrain from meeting with entities named on the US restricted export list. "We are worried that your trip to the PRC could legitimise companies that cooperate closely with the Chinese military or involve discussing exploitable gaps in US export controls," the senators wrote. Huang planned to visit China on Friday. An Nvidia spokesperson said, "American wins" when its technology sets "the global standard," and that China has one of the largest bodies of software developers in the world. AI software "should run best on the US technology stack, encouraging nations worldwide to choose America," the spokesperson said. In May at the Computex trade show in Taipei, Huang praised President Donald Trump's decision to scrap some artificial intelligence chip export controls and described the prior diffusion rules as a failure. US restrictions in April on AI chips Nvidia modified to comply with export controls to China would reduce Nvidia's revenue by US$15 billion, the CEO said. The hardware necessary to power advanced AI is now subject to a bipartisan consensus related to the free export of such hardware, the senators wrote. Advanced AI hardware could "accelerate the PRC's effort to modernise its military," the letter reads. US lawmakers have grown increasingly concerned about efforts to circumvent export controls to China and proposed a law that would force AI chip companies to verify the location of their products. Last month, Reuters reported that a senior US official said the AI firm DeepSeek is aiding China's military and intelligence operations, and sought to use shell companies to circumvent US AI chip export controls to China. Nvidia is planning to launch a cheaper version of its flagship Blackwell AI chips for China, Reuters reported in May. The senators said in the letter they had previously expressed concern that Nvidia's actions could support the AI and chip industries in China and cited Nvidia's new research facility in Shanghai as an example. - Reuters
