Haitian gang demand $17 million for release of kidnapped US and Canadian Christian missionaries — RT World News
According to the Haitian justice Minister, 17 US missionary workers were kidnapped by an armed gang. US media was told that they are asking for $1 million per person. Five children were also taken.
Over the weekend, the kidnappers contacted Christian Aid Ministries – an Ohio-based missionary group whose members were kidnapped – and demanded the ransom, Haitian Justice Minister Liszt Quitel told several US media outlets on Tuesday.
Since then, the missionary group has kept in touch with the gang via phone calls. The minister added that both local police negotiators as well as FBI agents have advised the group about how to proceed. However, he did not provide any details about the status of negotiations.
CNN reports that FBI agents were in Haiti. They also reported that they weren’t leading negotiations or speaking directly with the gang.
Massnews.com also available
Armed gang kidnaps up to 17 American Christian missionaries, including children, in Haiti – reports
This agency is “part of a coordinated US government effort to get the Americans involved to safety,”A spokesperson for the FBI told Channel 7, adding that “due to operational considerations, no further information is available at this time.”
Total, 400 Mawozo are asking $17million for all hostages to be released. The missionaries and their families were abducted last Saturday while they were traveling on a bus not far from the Caribbean nation’s capital, Port-au-Prince. According to media reports they were in an orphanage.
Initial reports indicated that at least three children were among the kidnappers. According to the Wall Street Journal’s Tuesday report, citing Quitel that this group consisted of children between three and six years old as well as a baby aged eight months.
The minister said that the hostages were being held outside Croix-des-Bouquets (a suburb controlled by the gang), according to him.
“The kidnappers have been warned about harming the hostages and what may be the consequences for them [if that were to happen]. But they are not swayed by those warnings,”Minister added.
The abduction is among the most serious in recent years. However, they have become more frequent in the country which has been mired in years of turmoil. Its president, Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated at his residence in July, amid a continuously worsening economic situation, and another earthquake hit Haiti in August.
Massnews.com also available
Chief prosecutor in Haiti SACKED after he tried to charge PM for alleged role in president’s murder
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