U.S. arrests former Haitian mayor accused of political violence

FILE PHOTO: A woman walks past a barricade amid gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti March 3, 2023. REUTERS/Ralph Tedy Erol/File Photo

BOSTON (Reuters) - A former mayor of a rural town in Haiti was arrested on U.S. visa fraud charges on Wednesday, a day after a jury ordered him to pay $15.5 million over allegations he led a campaign of murder and other acts of violence against his political opponents.

Federal prosecutors in Boston said Jean Morose Viliena, 50, illegally obtained a green card allowing him to live permanently in the United States by falsely claiming he had not ordered or carried out extrajudicial and political killings in Haiti.