Haiti Kidnapping of American Missionaries Includes Five Children
An Ohio-based religious organization said five children are among a group of 16 U.S. citizens and a Canadian kidnapped in Haiti during a trip to visit an orphanage.
On Sunday, Christian Aid Ministries said the hostages include five men, seven women and the children.
“Join us in praying for those who are being held hostage, the kidnappers, and the families, friends and churches of those affected,” the group said.
The daylight kidnapping on Saturday is just the latest manifestation of the rampant violence plaguing the politically unstable Caribbean nation.
Kidnappings in Haiti have increased threefold since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July, according to Haiti’s Centre for Analysis and Research in Human Rights, a non-profit think tank. The group has recorded 628 kidnappings during the first eight months, making Haiti a global hot spot for abductions.
In Washington, a State Department spokesman said the U.S. is aware of the kidnapping reports and didn’t comment further on the incident.
Haiti’s National Police hasn’t acknowledged the kidnapping on its website or social media accounts. Calls to the police were not immediately answered.
Haitian media reported Sunday that armed gangs prevented Prime Minister Ariel Henry from laying a floral wreath at a monument to Haiti’s founding father, Jean-Jacques Dessalines.
Gang violence has emerged as one of Henry’s principal obstacles to calling new presidential and legislative elections.
Last week, Uzra Zeya, the U.S. undersecretary of state for civilian security, democracy and human rights, visited Haiti and said the U.S. would continue supporting the nation’s police and intelligence services.
“Dismantling violent gangs is vital to Haitian stability and citizen security,” she wrote on Twitter.
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