A group of 17 missionaries, including 16 Americans and one Canadian, were kidnapped in Haiti on Saturday and are being held prisoner for ransom.
Christian Aid Ministries, based in Ohio, reported its missionaries were taken in Ganthier, a commune just east of the country’s capital city Port-au-Prince, as they were going home after visiting an orphanage. Five of the abductees are minors.
An administration source told NBC that a team of FBI agents arrived in Haiti on Sunday to help the State Department secure the release of the Christian missionaries.
“People do not go out in the streets. We can not find people to transport.”
The 400 Mawozo gang is accused of kidnapping 17 missionaries from a U.S.-based organization, including a 2-year-old, police said Sunday https://t.co/BhgsjuufIW pic.twitter.com/xTCSiSmAV0
— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) October 17, 2021
Who Are 400 Mawozo? Wikipedia Bio
The 400 Mawozo, which roughly translates to “inexperienced men,” is an infamous Caribbean gang known for savage homicides, ransom kidnappings, and extorting businesspeople.
Like the 400 Mawozo, many Haitian gangs profit through collective abductions, in which they kidnap large groups of people and hold them captive until ransom demands are paid.
The violent group has taken control of the Croix-des-Bouquets region, including Ganthier, where the missionaries were kidnapped and many other kidnappings and carjackings.
“400 Mawozo” gang believed to have kidnapped Christian missionaries in Haiti https://t.co/PPEnOGmRZN pic.twitter.com/5339T0mLe4
— The Hill (@thehill) October 17, 2021
The 400 Mawozo were also implicated in the abduction of five priests and two nuns in April, kidnapped at gunpoint near the exact location as the Christian missionaries.
According to a local news agency, the gang then demanded a $1 million ransom to release the hostages.
All hostages were subsequently freed; however, it’s unknown whether the group received the $1 million ransom money.
Kidnapping Gang Members And Victims Explored
The identity of the 400 Mawozo Gang members has remained a mystery as of late.
However, in September 2021, The Haitian Times reported the deaths of ten gang members. Aside from that, nothing noteworthy has been discovered on the internet.
It appears that identifying and apprehending the 400 Mawozo Gang members will take some time.
Regardless, the inquiry is ongoing, and the police are doing everything they can to help.
In April, 400 Mawozo kidnapped five priests and two nuns, including two French nationals, and held them captive for three weeks in deplorable conditions. In Haiti, Catholic universities and schools have closed in protest.
The gang wanted $1 million in exchange for the group’s safe return, although it’s unknown whether the ransom was paid. The gang was eventually let go.
He has fought rival gangs, kidnapped entrepreneurs, police officers, and street vendors, forced youngsters in regions it controls to beat up captives, and extorted communities for money, among other things.