In accordance with Section 6(j) of its Guidelines, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2653 (2022) concerning Haiti makes accessible a narrative summary of reasons for the listing for individuals and entities included in the sanctions list.
Wilson Joseph was listed on 8 December 2023 pursuant to paragraph 15 of resolution 2653 (2022) for the measures listed in paragraphs 3 and 6, as further elaborated by paragraphs 16(a), 16(b), 16(d), and 16(e) of resolution 2653 (2022).
Wilson Joseph (aka “Lanmo San Jou”), is the leader of the 400 Mawozo gang, which is an active gang in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, notably in Croix-des-Bouquets commune, and an ally of the G-Pep coalition of gangs (see S/2023/674, Section III(A)(2.3)).
Wilson Joseph is responsible – either directly or through orders to his gang members – for the commission of human rights abuses and crimes, including those involving attacks against defenseless individuals causing death and injury, disrupting or impeding humanitarian aid (e.g. medical services), rape (including rape of minors), the recruitment of children, robbery, looting, and destruction of public property such as prisons and police stations, kidnapping, and hijacking of trucks (see S/2023/674, Annex 4). These attacks have resulted in large numbers of internal displacements. Joseph is also wanted by the Haitian National Police for crimes including murder, attempted murder, vehicle theft, and kidnapping (see S/2023/674, Annex 20).
On July 24, 2022, a Croix-des-Bouquets Police Commissioner was killed and mutilated by members of 400 Mawozo gang (see S/2023/674, Annex 6). In February 2023, the Higgins Brothers Surgicenter for Hope in Fonds Parisien, located in an area controlled by 400 Mawozo, reported multiple incidents of surgeons, doctors, and nurses being shot, robbed, and kidnapped while on their way to work in the past two years (see S/2023/674, Annex 44). Joseph is also implicated in the high-profile kidnapping case that occurred in October 2021, when 17 foreign Christian missionaries and family members, including five minors, were abducted in Haiti (see S/2023/674, Annex 32).
400 Mawozo gang is actively involved in trafficking arms and ammunition (see S/2023/674, para. 104). Several members known to be responsible for arms and ammunition trafficking have been arrested by the Haiti National Police, including in Malpasse on April 26, 2022, and Nippes in the southwest of the country on May 14, 2022 (see S/2023/674, Annex 32). In May 2022, three Haitian nationals and one United States citizen were charged with firearms trafficking in support of 400 Mawozo in Haiti (see S/2023/674, Annex 32).