by Olga Kuznetsova
[REGNUM] A private island with blackjack and the ladies of the night—how many of us have joked like that in smoking rooms and at corporate parties? But who has actually tried to get closer to their dream? Two guys from Texas did.
As expected, this story didn't have a happy ending. It began when 20-year-old Tanner Christopher Thomas and 21-year-old Gavin Rivers Weisenberg decided to seize the island of Gonâve, which is under Haitian jurisdiction.
The Americans planned to stage a violent coup and enslave the local population: use women and children for sexual pleasures, and kill all the men.
MIRACLE ISLAND
This story brought Gonâve Island into the news for the first time. It's hardly large: a population of 87,000 (some sources say even less) and a total area of ​​743 square kilometers.
The beaches here are exceptionally picturesque, but this does not eliminate the problems with fresh water – and, at the same time, malnutrition – that the local population is experiencing.
By the way, the island was once already captured by an American.
In 1925, US Marine Sergeant Faustin Wirkus (born in the Kingdom of Poland) arrived here to serve as district administrator. The local voodoo queen declared him the reincarnation of King Faustin I (who fled Haiti in 1859 to escape another coup and promised his subjects he would return).
Thus Faustin Virkus became Faustin II, living quite comfortably—some say he even managed the district quite well (though this is more due to the voodoo elite who supported him). His status entitled him to a personal harem, which he made use of with pleasure.
In 1929, as a result of political necessity and disputes between the Americans and the Haitian President, Wirkus abdicated, was transferred to Port-au-Prince, and soon dismissed.
He subsequently made a career as an expert on Caribbean beliefs, writing memoirs and consulting with others on various aspects of Voodoo culture and religion.
Apparently, Virkus's young followers read his story and decided that the best way to prepare for the capture of Gonâve was to enlist in the American army, or in some other service with serious strength training.
PREPARATION AND PLAN
The Texas natives did not want to count on the appearance of a personal voodoo queen.
So Weisenberg enrolled in a fire academy—it's no wonder fire control is highly valued in some indigenous communities in the Caribbean. Thomas enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, seeking to gain weapons and combat skills.
Interestingly, Thomas served at Ramstein Air Base in Germany from January 2025. Later, in March, he secured a transfer to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, near Washington, D.C.
Washington was not chosen by chance.
It was there that the comrades recruited homeless people, whom they planned to use as fighters to capture the island. Additionally, they planned to acquire a sailboat, firearms and other ammunition, as well as explosives, for the invasion.
In addition, from July 2024 to May 2025, Thomas and Weisenberg diligently studied Haitian Creole.
True, there were some nuances to the case—for example, Weisenberg failed his training at the fire academy almost immediately after admission.
The success of the months-long Washington homeless recruitment effort is difficult to characterize. Local journalists were unable to find any data on the exact number of people who agreed to quit smoking crack and sailboat for Haitian slaves.
It also emerged that during this same period, Weisenberg and Thomas began producing child pornography, clearly planning to expand their "business" to Gonâve (incidentally, Haitian children are a common commodity on the local black market: they are readily purchased for criminal purposes, as well as for arranging illegal adoptions, as they are extremely reluctant to be sought in their home country).
It seems that the scandal surrounding "Epstein Island" also influenced the imagination of the newly-minted conquistadors.
Both figures have now been arrested.
Weisenberg in July, and Thomas more recently, after being court-martialed and discharged from the service.
For the production of child pornography, each person faces 15 to 30 years in prison, and for conspiracy to commit murder (and more than one) in a foreign country, the sentence is life imprisonment.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The question naturally arises: did the comrades manage to do anything real to invade Gonâve?
Judging by open sources, no.
However, to be prosecuted in the US, it's not necessary to actually set foot on a foreign island with malicious intent. It's enough to prove the development of logistical and operational plans, as well as specific actions taken to acquire the necessary skills. For example, drawing a map and learning to shoot.
And for Weisenberg and Thomas, things went even further.
However, their criminal trial is still only at the very beginning—it is entirely possible that some of the charges will later evolve into something more or less serious.
Incidentally, it's not entirely clear how these people's activities came to the attention of law enforcement. It's likely that it happened during the overly active recruitment of homeless people, among whom there are plenty of "Trojan horses" who turn in drug dealers and terrorists to the FBI.
But we shouldn't rule out the possibility that Weisenberg and Thomas decided to test the waters by asking questions of active mercenaries and military personnel stationed in and around Haiti—for which they were ultimately punished.