Status: 17.12.2021 11:10 a.m.
Two months ago, a group of North American missionaries was kidnapped in Haiti. Now everyone is free again – the hostage-takers have also let the last twelve people go.
Two months after the abduction of 17 North Americans in Haiti, all of the hostages are free. The last twelve abductees have been released, said police spokesman Gary Desrosiers. He cannot give any further details at the moment.
The missionaries and their relatives were abducted by a criminal gang outside the capital Port-au-Prince in mid-October. Two hostages were released in November and three more in early December.
The exact circumstances of the release are unclear
The leader of the gang named 400 Mawozo, Wilson Joseph, had demanded a ransom of $ 17 million after the hostage-taking. He threatened to murder the hostages if the sum was not paid. According to the AP news agency, it is not known whether the money has flowed. It is also unclear what precise circumstances led to the release. According to the information, a convoy of vehicles from the embassy and the police picked up the people on Thursday afternoon (local time). He took them to the capital’s airport from the missionary offices not far from Port-au-Prince.
The abductees worked for the Christian aid organization Christian Aid Ministries. According to their information, they were twelve adults between the ages of 18 and 48 and five minors between the ages of eight months and 15 years. The organization expressed relief at the release of its employees. The White House also took a position: It thanked the Federal Police, the FBI, the US State Department and the security agencies in Haiti, “who have worked tirelessly to get these missionaries home safely”.
The number of kidnappings in Haiti has risen sharply in recent months. According to the human rights organization Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights (CARDH), hundreds of people have already been kidnapped this year.