17 American Missionaries Were Kidnaped in Haiti. What’s Next?

Negotiations with a notorious Haitian gang have stretched into the fourth day for the release of 17 American missionaries. With Haitian politics in limbo, criminal organizations have been able to largely operate without pushback. On July 7, 2020 Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated followed by an earthquake that killed more than 2,000 people. These events, exacerbated by Haiti’s extreme poverty, have made crime worse in the last few months. The missionaries, initially attempting to aid in earthquake recovery, were kidnapped when visiting an orphanage. Six women, six men, and five children were all taken and are being ransomed for $1 million dollars per person.

Members of the 400 Mawazo Gang are the alleged perpetrators. According to locals, this specific gang is infamous for kidnappings of both Haitians and foreigners and has gradually transitioned from petty theft to kidnapping and ransom. Earlier this year the gang kidnapped five priests and two nuns that included two French nationals who were eventually released. It is unknown whether the ransom was paid or not.

On October 19, 2021 Haitian’s took to the streets to protest the kidnappings and lack of government assistance in relation to gang violence. One protester was quoted saying, “Without these missionaries, a lot of the old people you see out here would not have been able to send their children to school. Without these missionaries, a lot of these people would have lost their homes to floods. Without these missionaries, our damaged homes would never have been repaired. It’s they who built a road that we can travel on today.”

The United States has very strict policies in dealing with ransoms and it is apparent that they will not pay it under any circumstance. If this situation is to resolved peacefully, it will either be through negotiation or a private organization will step in and pay the ransom. President Biden has been briefed and the FBI is working in conjunction with Haiti to free the hostages.

This blog post is part of the CIMA Law Group Blog. If you are in need of legal help, the CIMA Law Group is a law firm in Phoenix, Arizona which possesses expertise in Immigration Law, Criminal Defense, Personal Inquiry, and Government Relations.