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Haiti, a nation plagued by violence and endemic poverty is not unfamiliar to kidnapping waves. But as armed gangs allegedly linked to politicians and private business interests have strengthened, now controlling swaths of the nation, analysts say the current wave is by far the worst in Haiti’s history. According to the Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights in Port-au-Prince, at least 395 kidnappings occurred in the first six months. This is more than four times as many as the 88 that took place in the same time last year. After the assassination in July of President Jovenel Moïse — who was accused of being in league with the very gang members who use kidnappings as a source of revenue and control — abductions dropped briefly, before surging to 73 in August and to 117 in September, according to the center.
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