China News Service, October 20. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal on the 19th, an armed organization that kidnapped 17 American and Canadian missionaries in Haiti last week, demanding a ransom of 17 million U.S. dollars.
According to reports, Haitian Attorney General Quitel told several media that the gang called "400 Mawozo" demanded to pay $1 million for each hostage.
Quittel said that Haitian police negotiators and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are getting in touch with the kidnappers, but negotiations may take several weeks.
The source said that FBI agents have arrived in Haiti to assist the US Department of State in ensuring the safety of the hostages.
On the 16th local time, Christian Aid Ministries (Christian Aid Ministries) staff and relatives, including 16 Americans and a Canadian, were abducted by gang members, including 5 children, in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti.
The US media pointed out that in the past few months, Haiti has suffered political and economic turmoil such as the assassination of the president and a magnitude 7.2 earthquake, which have further worsened the already troubled socio-economic situation.
The Haitian non-profit organization "Human Rights Analysis and Research Center" said that since January 2021, they have recorded at least 628 kidnappings, of which 29 were foreigners.
The center said that compared with July, the number of kidnappings in September increased by 300%.