Ex-Haitian Mayor Found Guilty of Visa Fraud in U.S.

Jean Morose Viliena, a former Haitian mayor, was convicted by a U.S. jury for lying about his violent actions against political opponents to get a green card. Found guilty of visa fraud, Viliena faces sentencing amid ongoing appeals of a prior multi-million dollar civil judgment against him.

In a courtroom in Boston, a former Haitian mayor's dark past caught up with him as Jean Morose Viliena was convicted of visa fraud. Prosecutors accused him of lying about orchestrating violence against his political opponents to secure U.S. residency.

Viliena, who once led a grisly campaign of violence in Les Irois, Haiti, was found guilty of three counts of visa fraud. The conviction emerged shortly after a civil jury made him liable for $15.5 million to victims of his brutal past. Viliena insists on his innocence and has appealed the civil verdict.

Prosecutors allege that Viliena, after becoming mayor in 2006, committed or ordered atrocities including maiming and killing adversaries. His history stands as a stark reminder of Haiti's broader conflicts, bringing attention to the continued necessity of legal redress within international frameworks.

(With inputs from agencies.)