Armed men abducted over 17 US missionaries along with their families in Haiti

Port-au-Prince, Haiti: As per the reports, An armed gang abducted more than 17 U.S. missionaries, along with their family members, which also includes children. The kidnapping is reported near Haiti’s capital city – Port-au-Prince.

Haitian security sources had informed that the individuals were kidnapped when they were boarding a bus after visiting an orphanage.  

Jennifer Viau, a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department in Washington, stated by email that “we’re looking into this.”In the meantime, a spokesperson for Haitian Police has cited that they are gathering more information on the matter.  

The Embassy of the United States in Haiti did not respond to a request for comment outside business hours. 

Crime in Haiti – 

The gang violence in the Caribbean island is already at a peak level and has even increased after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise. The statistics show that in the first three quarters of 2021, more than 600 kidnappings were recorded.  

Haiti is the most impoverished nation in the Americas. The uproaring crime rate on the island is a massive tension in its development as it is already facing several issues, including the COVID-19 outbreak, hunger crisis, poverty, political instability. 

The top diplomat of Haiti has counted on the United Nations Security Council to assist the island country in dealing with the soaring gang violence and crime. 

Besides this, the island nation was hard hit by 7.2 magnitude of the earthquake on August 14 2021, which took away the lives of more than 2,200 people. More than 53,000 buildings have been destroyed by the earthquake that also includes – schools, churches, homes, and other infrastructure.

Haiti is one of the nations who are having the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rate. Mass deportation also took the place of the Haitian migrants from the Mexico-Texas border in tens of thousands.