A new hostage-taking in Haiti had a happy and rapid outcome. The 38 people kidnapped Friday in Port-au-Prince by a gang, as they prepared to travel in two minibuses to southern Haiti, were released on Saturday, June 11.
“The passengers who had been kidnapped were released and the two buses recovered on June 11,” said the Association of Owners and Drivers of Haiti (APCH) on Twitter, which does not specify whether a ransom was demanded and paid. to the kidnappers.
The 36 passengers and two drivers were taken hostage on Friday morning by gang members from Village de Dieu, one of the capital’s slums.
At least 200 kidnappings in May
Since June 1, 2021, the authorities have lost control of the only road access that connects Port-au-Prince to the southern half of the country because, over the space of two kilometers, the national road is completely under the control of armed gangs . It is on this axis, at the western exit of the Haitian capital, that the kidnapping of 38 people took place.
President of the APCH, Méhu Changeux told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Friday that his organization “always asks drivers not to use this road until the state has restored security”.
During the month of May, at least 200 kidnappings were recorded in Haiti by the United Nations, particularly in Port-au-Prince.
