THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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Remaining U.S., Canadian missionaries kidnapped in Haiti have been released: Police

Remaining U.S., Canadian missionaries kidnapped in Haiti have been released: Police

The remaining members of a U.S.-based Christian missionary group who were kidnapped in Haiti in October have been released, Haiti national police spokesman Gary Desrosiers told The Washington Post on Thursday.

The 17 hostages, who included 16 Americans and one Canadian, were seized by the notorious street gang 400 Mawozo outside Port-au-Prince on Oct. 16 as they were returning from a visit to an orphanage some 90 minutes from their base. The group from Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries included women and five children, one of whom was 8 months old at the time.

Two of the hostages were released in November and three more were released this month.

Christian Aid Ministries thanked supporters for their "fervent prayers" over the past two months and said they would provide more information "as we are able."

"We glorify God for answered prayer - the remaining twelve hostages are FREE," the group said. "Join us in praising God that all 17 of our loved ones are now safe."

400 Mawozo had demanded $1 million for the return of each victim; its leader had threatened to "put a bullet" in them if the demand wasn't met. It's unclear whether a ransom was paid for any of the hostages. The U.S. and Canadian governments have said that they typically do not pay ransoms.

Officials from the State Department and the FBI have been on the ground in Haiti to help secure the release of the hostages.

The kidnapping of the missionaries focused international attention on a terrifying wave of mass abductions by the armed gangs that have tightened their grip on the beleaguered Caribbean nation. The gangs have targeted Haitians of all ages and all walks of life, including doctors, busloads of passengers, even police.

The kidnapping of fuel trucks and their drivers have caused fuel shortages, impacting hospitals and triggering nationwide strikes that have paralyzed the country. When a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti in August, gangs temporarily blocked aid convoys from reaching victims.

Police have struggled to respond as gangs have grown more powerful and gained control of more territory. Haiti now has the world's highest kidnapping rate per capita. U.S. and Canadian officials have urged their nationals to leave the country.

400 Mawozo controls parts of Ganthier, the town east of Port-au-Prince where the missionaries were seized. The gang has grown notorious for targeting religious groups and members of the clergy, who were long considered off-limits. In recent months, it has engaged in mass kidnappings of buses and cars. In April, it kidnapped several priests and nuns, including some French nationals, prompting Catholic schools and universities to close in protest.

The release of the hostages is one piece of bright news in an otherwise difficult year for Haiti, which has been slammed by a convergence of calamities. In July, President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in a brazen attack at his home that remains unsolved, plunging the nation into turmoil. The earthquake in southern Haiti the next month killed more than 2,200 people. On Monday, a tanker truck carrying gasoline overturned and exploded in the country's second-largest city, killing at least 66 people and injuring scores more.

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