Haiti - Haiti gang seeks $1M each for 17 kidnapped US & Canadian missionaries & children, 16 Oct'21

[dotr]

October 19, 2021
Haiti gang seeks $1M each for kidnapped US and Canadian missionaries
''PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - A gang that kidnapped 17 members of a U,S.-based missionary group is demanding $1 million ransom per person, although authorities are not clear whether that includes the five children being held, a top Haitian official told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The official, who wasn't authorized to speak to the press, said someone from the 400 Mawozo gang called a ministry leader shortly after kidnapping the missionaries on Saturday and demanded the ransom. A person in contact with the organization, Christian Aid Ministries, also confirmed the $1 million per person demand, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. That source spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation.

The ages of the adults being held captive range from 18 to 48, while the children are 8 months, 3 years, 6 years, 13 years and 15 years, according to a statement from the organization on Tuesday. Sixteen of the abductees are Americans and one Canadian.

“This group of workers has been committed to minister throughout poverty-stricken Haiti,” the Ohio-based ministry said, adding that the missionaries were most recently working on a rebuilding project to help those who lost their homes in the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck on Aug. 14.

The group was returning from visiting an orphanage when they were abducted, the organization said.''

 

[dotr]

Haitian gang demands $1m each for kidnapped US missionaries
''Violence, looting, road blockades, armed gangs pose increasing obstacles to humanitarian aid for impoverished nation.''

Haitians protested against rising violence, fuel and food shortages at the home of acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on October 19 [Matias Delacroix/AP Photo]
19 Oct 2021
''The official, who was not authorised to speak to the press, said someone from the 400 Mawozo gang called in the ransom demand shortly after kidnapping the missionaries on October 16.

A person in contact with the Christian Aid Ministries, who also spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, confirmed the $1-million-per-person demand to the AP.

Haiti has descended into increasing lawlessness following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July and a magnitude-7.2 earthquake in August. Kidnappings by armed gangs have spiked, and fuel and food shortages and a new wave of migrants leaving the impoverished Caribbean island nation.

Haitian workers went on a general strike on October 18 to protest worsening insecurity and gang violence after the abduction of the Christian missionaries.

“Many people, including CAM management and Haitian and US authorities, are working diligently to bring our loved ones home safely,” Christian Aid said in a statement on Tuesday without acknowledging the ransom request.''

''Gangs have been accused of kidnapping schoolchildren, doctors, police officers, bus passengers and others as they grow more powerful and demand ransoms ranging from a couple hundred dollars to millions of dollars.''

 

[dotr]

Oct 21 2021
Haitian gang leader threatens to kill kidnapped missionaries in video | Canoe.Com
''PORT-AU-PRINCE — A Haitian man asserting that he represents a gang that kidnapped a group of American and Canadian missionaries said in a video posted on YouTube on Thursday that he is willing to kill “these Americans” if he does not get what he needs.

The speaker in the video, dressed in a purple suit, is identifiable as the man known in Haiti by the alias Lamo Sanjou, the leader of the 400 Mawozo gang.''

''Reuters was unable to independently confirm the veracity of the video or when it was made. It shows the man speaking in the street and surrounded by other, unidentified men. The missionaries were not present.

“If I don’t find what I need, these Americans, I’d rather kill them all, and I’ll unload a big gun in the head of each of them,” said the man.''

 

[TGIRecovered]

I am so frustrated and disgusted by this situation. The U.S. military is more than capable of rescuing these Americans and sending a message to the world that terrorists and criminals better not mess with the U.S.A.
This namby-pamby negotiation by “ US authorities” crap is ridiculous.
MOO

 

[Cryptic]

I am so frustrated and disgusted by this situation. The U.S. military is more than capable of rescuing these Americans and sending a message to the world that terrorists and criminals better not mess with the U.S.A.
This namby-pamby negotiation by “ US authorities” crap is ridiculous.
MOO

Hostages sometimes get killed in rescues. The hostage takers are a for profit criminal gang. They are not Jihaders. As such, there is no immediate threat to the lives of the hostages.

Then factor in such possibilities that the hostages have been broken into several groups and are being held at separate locations and move from time to time.

Last but not least, hostage taking groups have learned the hard way to respect US abilities to track cell phones, credit cards, email, banking etc. . The gang may have a strong aversion to all things electronic. Thus, finding the hostages might rely on human intelligence- which moves slower.

In short, there is no need to rush..... .

 

[IceIce9]

Amazed that this is not getting more attention.

Two hostages have been released, 15 still being held, including a baby.

“While we rejoice at this release, our hearts are with the 15 people who are still being held," the group said.

The missionaries were kidnapped by the 400 Mawozo gang on Oct. 16. There are five children in the group of 16 U.S. citizens and one Canadian, including an 8-month-old. Their Haitian driver also was abducted, according to a local human rights organization.

The leader of the 400 Mawozo gang has threatened to kill the hostages unless his demands are met. Authorities have said the gang was demanding $1 million per person, although it wasn’t immediately clear that included the children in the group.

Haiti missionary kidnappings: 2 released, church organization say | wthr.com

 

[dotr]

 

[IceIce9]

Great news!

12 Remaining Members of U.S. Group Kidnapped in Haiti Have Been Released

 

[sds71]

Captive missionaries in Haiti found freedom last week by making a daring overnight escape, eluding their kidnappers and walking for miles over difficult, moonlit terrain with an infant and other children in tow, according to the agency they work for, officials said Monday.

The group of 12 navigated by stars to reach safety after a two-month kidnapping ordeal, officials with the Christian Aid Ministries, the Ohio-based agency that the captive missionaries work for, said Monday at a press conference.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.co...ng-kidnappers-as-they-traversed-tough-terrain
Church agency: Captive missionaries made daring escape | AP News

Church agency: Captive missionaries in Haiti made daring escape, eluding kidnappers as they traversed tough terrain

 

[dotr]

Missionaries kidnapped in Haiti escaped after ransom money raised - ministry group
''The missionaries, who were abducted in October by a gang known as 400 Mawozo after visiting an orphanage, originally numbered 17 people.

Two hostages were freed in late November and three were released earlier this month.

Haitian police said on Thursday that the final dozen hostages had been found by authorities on a mountain called Morne à Cabrit. The mountain is about 37 km (23 miles) south of the capital Port-Au-Prince.

A spokesman for the missionary group, Weston Showalter, told the news conference in Millersburg that the last 12 hostages had plotted their escape and eventually walked miles to a point of safety where they could contact authorities.

"They were finally free," he said.

The ordeal has brought global attention to the Caribbean country's growing problem of gang abductions''

 

[PrairieWind]

"The ordeal has brought global attention to the Caribbean country's growing problem of gang abductions."

Unfortunately, Haiti is just one problem on top of another on top of another. Decades and even generations of total corruption has left the poor Haitian people in a state of total desperation.

 

[dotr]

Jan 1 2022
‘I was ready to die’: Canadian missionary kidnapped in Haiti tells of harrowing capture, ‘miraculous’ escape
''Dale Wideman says he believes God called him to go to Haiti — and called upon him to make a dangerous escape after Wideman was kidnapped there.

The 24-year-old missionary from southwestern Ontario was the sole Canadian of 17 Christian Aid Ministries volunteers who were snatched in Haiti by members of the 400 Mawozo gang on Oct. 16. With 16 Americans and one Canadian captured, it was an event that drew international attention to Haiti’s ongoing crisis, in which gangs continue to use kidnapping as a means to gain money and influence amid political turmoil.

Wideman is safe now, at home in Canada after enduring two months in captivity. He says he thanks God for delivering him. And he has chosen to share publicly for the first time some of his experience of going to Haiti and his kidnapping there — including that he says he now forgives those who held him captive.''