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The kidnapping in Haiti: The gang demands $ 17 million for the release of the Americans
The 17 missionaries, including 4 children and an 8-month-old baby, were abducted earlier this week by members of the "400 Maozo" gang.
A Haitian security source said all hostages were currently safe and sound.
FBI agents are in Haiti, assisting in the investigation and advising on negotiations
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kidnapping
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Tuesday, 19 October 2021, 20:31 Updated: 21:38
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The orphanage, next to which the Americans were abducted (Photo: AP, Joseph Odelyn)
The gang that abducted American missionaries and their families is demanding $ 17 million for their release, US media reported Tuesday.
Seventeen Americans, including children, were abducted on Sunday by members of the "400 Maozo" gang after leaving an orphanage in Port-au-Prince, the capital of the Caribbean island.
The recent abduction is part of a wave of intensification in the country, which is suffering from many crises, political instability and severe poverty.
According to Christian aid agencies, among the abductees were seven women, five men and five children, including an eight-month-old baby, a three-year-old boy and a six-year-old boy.
A Haitian security source said all hostages were currently safe and sound.
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Demonstrations in Haiti for the release of the hostages (Photo: Reuters, Ralph Tedy Erol)
Haiti Attorney General Lisette Quittle told CNN that the kidnappers demanded a sum of $ 1 million in exchange for the release of each of the hostages.
On Sunday the kidnappers called the aid offices and presented their ransom demands.
According to the missionary group, several more talks have taken place between them and the kidnappers since then, and according to the FBI Quital and the Haitian police are advising on further negotiations.
FBI agents are in Haiti assisting in the investigation, but do not speak directly to the hijackers.
"The FBI is part of a government effort to bring Americans back safely. For security reasons, we will not be able to elaborate," a spokesman for the organization told CNN.
The gangs are raging
Increasing gang violence in Haiti displaced thousands of residents from their homes and hit the poorest state economy in America. Violence on the island went out of control after the assassination of President Jubilee Moyes in July and an earthquake in August in which more than 2,000 people were killed. According to some estimates, the gangs now control about half of the capital's territory. On Monday, gangs shot at a school bus in the city, injuring at least five people, including students, while another public bus was hijacked by a gang.
The political crisis in Haiti, which has begun in recent years with demonstrations against Moyes, has intensified further after the controversial president was assassinated in his home in July, an elimination left unresolved. Senior politicians began fighting for control of the country after the government vacuum created with the assassination, with officials blaming each other for being part of a conspiracy to assassinate the president.
The mass abduction came just a day after the UN Security Council extended its task force in Haiti for another nine months, a unanimous decision. Many Haitian citizens have called on the United States to send forces to stabilize the situation, but the Biden administration is refusing to do so.
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