Haitian Gang Leader Amaral Duclona In Trial In France

Claude Bernard Lauture, a Franco-Haitian entrepreneur, suffered kidnapping and sequestration, before finally being killed in 2004 in Port-au-Prince. The man thought to be responsible for his death is a 34-year old Haitian gang leader called Amaral Duclona, also known as Berthone Jolicoeur. Back then, Amaral was the leader of chiremes, and made several claims that he was working with Aristide in Cite Soleil.

ADVERTISEMENT


On January 6, 2014, a group of armed men kidnapped Claude Bernard. Later, Claude was heard on a telephone call saying that the kidnappers wanted a ransom of $100,000 to be paid, upon which they would release him. Nobody paid the ransom, and Claude was never released. A day later, on 7 January 2014, Claude's bullet-riddled body was found in Cite Soleil.

The widow of Claude Bernard Lauture filed complaints regarding the manner of her husband's death in a French court. The investigations would probably not have proceeded, but for the discovery of a cell phone at the scene of the crime. The investigation that has been conducted shows that Berthone's number was called around 21 times on the day in which the gang of armed men kidnapped him.

Claude's cell phone was also used to call a person who worked as the contact between Duclona and Aristide. Berthone took off to the Dominican Republic where he found refuge. He stayed in the Dominican Republic for five years before his arrest in 2009. He complained that his was a case of mistaken identity, since by the time of his arrest he had changed his identity.

His extradition to France after the 2009 arrest followed the murder of Henri Paul Mourral, who was at one time the French honorary consul in Haiti. The impending trial will last a week.

Reply to this article

Read more: Amaral Duclona, Claude Bernard Lauture, Security Crime Law and Order

« Little Haiti Boy(14) committed suicide after killing older brother(16) over clothes | Main | Fugitive Wesnel Isaac, Member Of The Zoe Pound Gang, Arrested »

Return to Articles List

Leave a Reply

Name (required)

E-mail (required, will not be published)

Subject: Haitian Gang Leader Amaral Duclona In Trial In France edit

» »

Our objective is to share with you news and information about Haiti and the people of Haiti. Traditions, habits and the way we were  or  grew are alive in this site. We highly recommend that you Subscribe to our Newsletter and also share with us some of the things that are memorable and made us unique people.