Haiti gang releases all 12 hostages from US missionary group
- Five of the captives were previously freed by the notorious 400 Mawozo gang, but the remaining dozen were held for two months
- The gang had asked for a US$17 million ransom, threatening to kill the hostages if the demand was not met
A Haiti gang has released all 12 hostages two months to the day that they were kidnapped in Haiti’s capital, Haiti National Police spokesman Garry Desrosiers and two US government sources confirmed.
The hostages were abducted just east of Port-au-Prince by a notorious gang, 400 Mawozo, and were among a group of 12 adults and five children, including an 8-month-old.
Of the group of 17 missionaries, all but one was American. The other one is Canadian.
The missionaries and their relatives were kidnapped in Haiti on October 16 and were the longest-held hostages in the country, where kidnappings for ransom have continued unabated.
After the abduction, Christian Aid Ministries, based in Berlin, Ohio, asked supporters to pray and to fast “to intercede for those who are still being held as well as those who have been released”.
