Ex-Haitian mayor who helped carry out political killings sentenced in Massachusetts for immigration fraud, feds say

Rick Sobey, Boston Herald on Jun 20, 2025

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BOSTON — A former mayor in Haiti who helped carry out political killings has been sentenced in the Bay State for immigration fraud.

Jean Morose Viliena, 53, was sentenced in Boston federal court on Friday for illegally obtaining a Green Card by lying, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

When Viliena came to the U.S., he lied that he had not ordered or carried out extrajudicial and political killings against the Haitian people. He was convicted earlier this year of three counts of visa fraud.

On Friday, he was sentenced to nine years in prison and three years of supervised release. He’s subject to deportation proceedings at the end of his sentence.

“Jean Morose Viliena built a life in the United States by burying the truth about his violent past – a past marked by political persecution, bloodshed and the silencing of dissent in Haiti,” Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a statement. “For more than a decade, he lived freely and comfortably in this country while the victims of his brutality lived in fear, exile and pain.

“Today’s sentence brings a measure of justice for the lives he shattered and sends a clear message: the United States will not be a safe haven for human rights abusers,” Foley added. “Lying to gain entry into this country and then lying again under oath to avoid accountability, strikes at the heart of our immigration and legal systems. I commend the tremendous courage of the victims and witnesses who stood up and spoke the truth, despite the risks, and made this outcome possible.”

Viliena was the mayor of Les Irois, Haiti from 2006 to 2010. As a candidate and as mayor, Viliena was backed by a political machine called Korega, which exerts power throughout the southwestern region of Haiti through armed violence.

Viliena supervised his mayoral staff and security detail, and led an armed group in Les Irois aligned with Korega. Under Viliena’s direct supervision, the Korega militia enforced Viliena’s policies by various means — including by targeting political opponents in Les Irois through armed violence.

As mayor, Viliena was involved in several instances of violence, the feds said. The first occurred in July 2007 when a witness spoke at a judicial proceeding in Les Irois on behalf of a neighbor who had been assaulted by Viliena.

In response to that testimony, Viliena led an armed group to that witness’ home, where Viliena and his associates shot and killed the witness’ younger brother, and then smashed his skull with a large rock before a crowd of bystanders.

“In Haiti, Jean Morose Viliena was involved in the violent killings, beatings, and assaults of whomever he believed threatened his power as mayor,” said Matthew Galeotti, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “His lies to U.S. immigration authorities allowed him to unlawfully enter this country and obtain lawful permanent resident status.

“Individuals who commit violent crimes in their home countries should take note: we do not tolerate human rights abusers who lie to take refuge here,” he added. “We will find you, investigate you, and prosecute you to ensure that you are held accountable to the maximum extent of U.S. law for your heinous criminal conduct.”

On June 3, 2008, Viliena presented himself at the U.S. Embassy Consular Office in Port au Prince, Haiti where he submitted an application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration, Form DS-230, Part II to gain entry to the U.S.

The form requires that each applicant state whether or not they’re a member of any class of individuals that are excluded from admission into the U.S., including those who have “ordered, carried out or materially assisted in extrajudicial and political killings and other acts of violence against the Haitian people.” Viliena falsely responded that he was not.

Then in July 2008, as the result of the approval of his DS-230 application, Viliena gained entry into the U.S. and was granted lawful permanent residence status.

A civil lawsuit was filed against him in 2017, alleging various violations under the Torture Victim Protection Act and Alien Tort Statute. Then in 2023, a jury found him liable for the extrajudicial killing of Ecclesiaste Boniface, and the attempted extrajudicial killing and torture of Juders Yseme and Nissage Martyr. The plaintiffs were awarded $11 million in punitive damages.

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