MIAMI — FBI Miami special agents asked the public for help on Wednesday with capturing a fugitive from Haiti.

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The U.S. State Department announced there was a $1 million reward for Johnson “Izo” Andre, a suspect in the hostage-taking of a U.S. citizen in Port-au-Prince.

FBI special agents identified Andre as ”the leader of the 5 Segond," a gang that started in Port-au-Prince’s Village de Dieu neighborhood.

Last year, federal prosecutors announced a case against Andre in the District of Columbia for ordering the kidnapping at gunpoint on March 18, 2023.

“The victim was taken to Village de Dieu, where he was held in captivity for nine days during which he was beaten and burned with hot plastic,” a spokesperson for the Justice Department wrote in a statement. “At one point, Andre visited the victim in captivity and engaged in ransom negotiations with the victim’s family.”

The 5 Segond gang released the U.S. citizen on March 27, 2023, after a ransom payment. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned Andre on Dec. 8, 2023.

The Haitian National Police also considers Andre a fugitive who is wanted for crimes that include murder, kidnapping for ransom, illegal possession of firearms, vehicle theft, and hijacking of goods.

According to the United Nations Security Council, Andre “has used the maritime route to provide support to his gang’s northern cells, as well as to the Canaan gang, and strategically operates from there, conducting kidnappings in the Delmas, Bon Repos and Lilavois areas, hijacking trucks and stealing goods.”

In 2022, Haitian police officers reported Andre recorded a video taking credit for the kidnapping of 38 hostages, including 36 passengers and two drivers, who were in two minibuses going to Miragoâne.

For more information about the $1 million reward or to submit a tip, visit this page.

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