The former mayor of Les Irois, Haiti, was awarded a green card to permanently resettle in the United States despite allegedly carrying out political killings and human rights abuses, the Department of Justice (DOJ) alleges.
This month, 50-year-old Jean Morose Viliena — the former mayor of Les Irois — was arrested, charged, and indicted in federal court on charges that he fraudulently obtained a green card by failing to disclose political killings and human rights abuses that he allegedly carried out or ordered while holding office in Haiti.
According to federal prosecutors, Viliena served as mayor in Les Irois from December 2006 to at least February 2010 during which he was backed by the Korega political machine, which uses armed violence to exert power over local residents.
The indictment alleges that in July 2007, a witness accused Viliena of assaulting his neighbor during criminal proceedings in Les Irois. That evening, the indictment claims, Viliena led an armed militia to the witness’s home, murdered the witness’s brother, and smashed his skull with a rock in front of a crowd of onlookers.
In a second incident, the indictment claims, Viliena and an armed militia forcibly shut down and seized a local radio station that had been founded by journalists and activists. Some members of the militia allegedly carried machetes, picks, and sledgehammers.
Viliena, in the midst of seizing the radio station, allegedly pistol-whipped and assaulted an individual before ordering his murder. The individual ultimately suffered a gunshot wound to the leg, which had to be amputated. Another individual was shot in the face and left blind in one eye as a result.
Less than a year after the first incident, Viliena applied for a visa to enter the U.S. at the American embassy in Port au Prince, Haiti. The indictment alleges that Viliena falsely claimed on his visa application that he had not been involved in political killings or human rights abuses.
The following day, the State Department approved Viliena’s visa application and about a month later, he arrived in the U.S. on a visa and eventually was awarded a green card to permanently remain in the U.S.
If convicted, Viliena faces up to ten years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
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