The United States: We are doing “everything we can” to release the kidnapped Americans
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced that the United States will do "everything it can" to release American and Canadian missionaries kidnapped in Haiti.
"Our focus in the (US) administration is entirely on this matter," Blinken said, according to the French news agency, during a press conference in Quito, Ecuador, noting that a team from the Federal Bureau of Investigation "FBI" is investigating this case.
"We will do everything we can to help resolve the situation," he added. The Minister of Justice in Haiti, Liszt Coetel, announced last night that a gang is holding a group of American missionaries and a Canadian missionary, asking for $17 million, or $1 million for each kidnapped one, for their release.
He told Reuters that talks are underway in an attempt to free the missionaries who were kidnapped by a gang calling itself (400 Mawusu) at the weekend outside the capital, Port-au-Prince.
The minister confirmed to "Reuters" the request for the exorbitant ransom, saying, "They asked for one million dollars for each person." The Wall Street Journal of America was the first media outlet to publish the news earlier yesterday.
CNN television news channel said earlier yesterday that the kidnappers first contacted the Christian aid group of the kidnapped on Saturday and immediately delivered a message with the exact ransom value in exchange for their release.
The attorney general said the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Haitian police are guiding the group through the negotiations.
He told CNN that several calls took place between the kidnappers and the Christian aid group.
The Ohio-based group said that the kidnapped 16 Americans and one Canadian, including six women and five children, including an eight-month-old baby.
Rising gang violence has displaced thousands and disrupted economic activity in the poorest country in the Americas.
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