Former Minister of Haiti confesses that he fears for his life 0:44
(CNN) -
One of the most powerful gangs in Haiti is believed to be behind the kidnapping of 17 American and Canadian missionaries, a source from the Caribbean country's security forces told CNN on Sunday.
Authorities believe the "400 Mawozo" gang kidnapped the group, which included 16 Americans and 1 Canadian, after missionaries visited an orphanage on Saturday in Croix des Bouquets, a northeast suburb of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince.
While traveling from the orphanage to Titanyen, north of Port-au-Prince, the gang members stopped the vehicle at gunpoint.
The 400 Mawozo gang has been growing in strength over the past three years, adding up to 150 members, and has essentially taken control of Croix des Bouquets, the Haitian security forces source told CNN.
Kidnapping for ransom is a characteristic gang activity.
They have kidnapped dozens of people this year alone, including foreign nationals, the source said.
16 American missionaries and a Canadian kidnapped in Haiti
Once known for car theft, the 400 Mawozo has pioneered "collective" kidnappings of large groups of victims in buses and cars, according to the Center for Analysis and Research for Human Rights (CARDH), a nonprofit organization. Profit based in Port-au-Prince.
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A goat is found in the courtyard of the Maison La Providence de Dieu orphanage in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, on October 17.
Much of the increase in kidnappings in Haiti is due to the 400 Mawozo, according to CARDH.
Gang members participate in almost daily clashes with the Haitian police and even collect taxes from local businesses.
In September, the gang kidnapped "several" Dominican Republic truckers and continues to hold them hostage amid negotiations for their release, the Haitian security forces source said.
Those ongoing negotiations are being factored into authorities' decisions on how to proceed with the kidnapped American and Canadian missionaries, the source added.
According to CARDH, the majority of the gang's victims are Haitian citizens and kidnappings have increased in Haiti this year, with an increase of almost 300% since July.
There have been at least 628 kidnappings since January, including 29 foreigners, according to data released by the center.
The 400 Mawozo has typically demanded ransoms of around $ 20,000, he said.
Ongoing investigation
Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries issued a statement Sunday confirming the kidnapping of the missionaries and said the kidnapped group consisted of five men, seven women and five children.
"We are seeking God's direction for a resolution, and authorities are looking for ways to help," the statement said.
Dan Hooley, a former field director for Christian Aid Ministries in Haiti, told CNN on Sunday that all of the kidnapped missionaries are believed to have been in a vehicle and that some were able to contact the organization's local director before being abducted.
The kidnappers have already contacted the organization, he said.
"A couple of colleagues immediately texted the director and told him what was going on. And one of them was able to drop a pin, and that's the last (the organization) heard until the kidnappers contacted them later. that day, "Hooley said.
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Haitian officials are in contact with the US State Department about the kidnapping, the country's Foreign Minister Claude Joseph told CNN.
One of the kidnapped missionaries, a US citizen, also posted a call for help on a WhatsApp group while the kidnapping was taking place,
The Washington Post
reported
, citing a person familiar with the kidnapping who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Christian Aid Ministries located on Ohio 39 in Berlin, Ohio is seen here on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021. (AP Photo / Tom E. Puskar)
"Please pray for us! They are taking us hostage, they kidnapped our driver. Pray, pray, pray. We don't know where they are taking us," the message read.
It is unclear whether the message was a video or a text message sent to the WhatsApp group, and there is no information about the WhatsApp group itself in
The Washington Post
reports
.
CNN cannot independently verify the authenticity of this message or the report.
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A spokesman for the US State Department said Saturday night that it was aware of the reports and that "the well-being and safety of US citizens abroad is one of the highest priorities of the State Department."
According to a senior US official familiar with the situation, FBI and State Department officials are unaware of the current location of the kidnapped missionaries.
Canadian officials are also working with local authorities and "implicated NGOs" to gather information, a spokeswoman for Global Affairs Canada told CNN.
CNN has reached out to the Haitian Ministry of Justice and the National Police, but they have yet to comment.
Indiscriminate kidnappings
Former Christian Aid Ministries Field Director Hooley said members of the group would have been aware of the risks they were taking.
"These are very dedicated people, people who have risked their lives, they knew the dangers they were in, or at least they knew what could happen, I'm sure," he said.
Hooley added that he knew several of the victims personally.
"Two of them are single guys. One was there for a while, the other is a friend of ours who just arrived on Friday and was planning to help with the earthquake in Haiti, the situation there in the south."
"And then there is a young couple there, a young couple with two children who were also kidnapped. We lived with her (the mother) in Oregon and we knew her family very well," Hooley said.
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Kidnapping in Haiti is often indiscriminate, targeting rich and poor citizens.
Several kidnapping victims and their families previously told CNN that they were still working to pay off their debts, after borrowing money from friends, employers and even banks to pay ransoms.
In one case that has become notorious across the country, a 5-year-old girl was reportedly found dead earlier this year with signs of strangulation.
His mother, a peanut seller, told Reuters she had been unable to get the equivalent of $ 4,000 in ransom.
Just before the kidnapping of the missionaries, a Haitian transport union had called an indefinite strike starting Monday to protest the increase in kidnappings, among other issues.
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"We call on the government to end the kidnappings and provide us with safety or to resign immediately. We are the biggest victims; the transport sector is an easy target for kidnappers across the country," said Méhu Changeux, president from the Haitian Owners and Drivers Association, to CNN on Sunday.
"We lost many members to insecurity and dozens of members have been kidnapped. The latest tragedy of the kidnapping of American missionaries shows that no one is safe in this country," Changeux said.
Kidnapping
