Haiti: a Dominican diplomat kidnapped by an armed gang

General view of the streets of Port-au-Prince, November 17, 2016 (illustration image).

REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

Daily life in Haiti remains marked by insecurity.

A Dominican diplomat was kidnapped at the end of the week by a gang, announced Sunday, May 1 the presidency of the neighboring Republic of Haiti, demanding immediately the opening of an investigation.

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The agricultural adviser of the Dominican embassy in Port-au-Prince had taken the road Friday, April 29 from the Haitian capital to return to his country, but he never arrived at the border, reports our correspondent in Port-au- Prince,

.

This trip consisted of crossing the entire area controlled for years by the 400 Mawozo gang.

The armed band would therefore have kidnapped him.

Without formal confirmation of this kidnapping, the Dominican presidency remains cautious, using the conditional in its press release on Sunday to denounce the kidnapping.

The Dominican government demanded from the Haitian authorities " 

 " of Carlos Guillen, according to a presidential statement.

But in Santo Domingo, the press provides more details.

According to

, the gang would demand $500,000 in ransom for the diplomat's release.

The region between the Haitian capital and the Dominican border is under the full control of powerful armed bands.

It was already in this area that French religious had been kidnapped in April 2021 and there also that the 17 North American missionaries, including five children, had been kidnapped between October and December.

Violence by criminal gangs in Port-au-Prince escalated into open warfare, with at least 18 civilians killed in days at the end of April.

Haitian police forces, not well equipped with weapons to deal with the situation, have lost control of entire neighborhoods and roads.

► To read also: Gang war north of Port-au-Prince: "People are killed, houses burned down"

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• Haiti

• Dominican Republic

• Diplomacy