CAP-HAITIEN — Haitian police in Cap-Haïtien arrested Gladymir Joseph, a 38-year-old man about to depart for the United States on April 4, believing he was Dèdè, the third-ranking gang leader in Savien, an area in the Artibonite Department. However, the police later admitted to misidentifying Joseph, who they now presume is a gang member from Wharf Jeremie, a slum in Port-au-Prince.

Arold Jean, the spokesperson for the police force in the Northern Department, stated that the initial misidentification was based on the information they had at the time. The Central Directorate of Judicial Police (DCPJ) transferred information to the Departmental Judicial Police Service (SDPJ) in the north, indicating that Joseph is instead part of a gang operating in Wharf Jeremie under the command of a notorious leader known as Mekanò.

“He’s not the gang leader in Savien; the information we had made us believe that,” said Jean.

“According to the information DCPJ transferred to SDPJ, he’s part of a gang operating in Wharf Jeremie under the leadership of Mekanò,” Jean added.

Jean does not know what caused the police unit at the Cap-Haïtien International Airport to misidentify Joseph initially. He added that Joseph would be transferred to the central police in Port-au-Prince but did not specify when.

Joseph, who had been approved for the I-134A humanitarian parole program following an application filed for him by his uncle, was detained at the Cap-Haïtien International Airport just before he was about to board a flight to Miami. Shortly after Joseph’s arrest, photographs of the gang leader known as Dèdè began circulating widely online, and it became apparent that Joseph bore no resemblance to this notorious gang leader.

“He’s not the gang leader in Savien; the information we had made us believe that.”
Arold Jean, spokesperson for the police in Cap-Haïtien

Dèdè, on his part, spoke on the social network Rete Konekte and said he was not arrested.

“I’m in front of my house in my pool,” Dèdè said. “There are a lot of beers and many women are pleasing me. They took the other guy and closed him somewhere and said it’s me. Meanwhile, I’m living well.”

Family and community members defend Joseph

Even after the police force acknowledged their error and clarified the confusion around the arrest, Joseph’s family continued to assert that he “is not a gang member.” They firmly believe that a close friend of Joseph’s, whose identity remains unknown, orchestrated his arrest out of envy because Joseph had been approved as a beneficiary of the humanitarian parole, known as the Biden program.

“They’re hating on him, that’s why the person is doing that,” Joseph’s partner of 16 years, Ketia Vilmé, said.

“He’s from the ghetto,” Vilmé, 34, added. “They don’t like when men with nappy hair are making moves. He had friends down there (Wharf Jeremie) and told them he was leaving that day and would catch a flight in Okap. His mouth caused him to be here (in jail).”

The day before Joseph’s flight, a message circulated online featuring a picture of him and text suggesting that Dèdè would be catching a flight at the Cap-Haïtien airport the following day. Joseph’s daughter, Vladinya, confirmed that her father knew about this message.

“He said it’s just people who are bitter because he’s leaving,” Vladinya, 14, recalls her father telling her over the phone. “He saw it as nothing.”

Joseph runs a business in Wharf Jeremie, selling iron and tools for bending iron, among other items. He also works as a taxi-moto driver. A close friend of Joseph’s, who also grew up in Wharf Jeremie, mentioned that due to the area’s bad reputation, the police often assume that residents are involved in criminal activities.

“We grew up in the ghetto,” said Josué Souffrant, a rapper better known as Eclair 107. “They always think you’re a criminal if you’re from this area. They believe you have a 90 percent chance of being a criminal. But many young people there don’t follow the crowd. Gladymir is a very positive young man.”

Joseph is a father to three children, Vladinya and two boys aged ten and seven. Upon hearing about her father’s arrest, Vladinya was deeply upset. She spent the entire day crying, eating less, and unable to concentrate on her schoolwork.

“Set my dad free, he didn’t do anything wrong,” Vladinya pleaded. “But look at what the State of my country did, they arrested him.”

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Misidentification of alleged Haitian gang member sparks controversy following arrest by police was first posted on April 16, 2024 at 8:47 am.