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Haiti Gang Demanding $1 Million in Ransom for 8-Month-Old American Baby

According to a Haitian official, the 400 Mawozo gang is asking for a total of $17 million for each of the hostages.

One of the five American children kidnapped in Haiti on Saturday is an 8-month-old baby, Haitian Justice Minister Liszt Quitel told CNN on Tuesday. The 400 Mawozo gang behind the abductions is reportedly asking for $1 million in ransom for each of the 17 hostages, which include 16 American citizens and one Canadian national involved with the missionary organization Christian Aid Ministries. According to a former field director who spoke with CNN, the hostages were likely traveling in the same van through Haiti’s capital city of Port-au-Prince at the time of the kidnapping.

“In recent months, [the hostages] were actively involved in coordinating a rebuilding project for those who lost their homes in the August 2021 earthquake. When kidnapped, the group was returning from a visit to an orphanage that receives support from Christian Aid Ministries,” reads a statement released on Tuesday by Christian Aid Ministries. In the statement, the organization confirmed that the child hostages include an 8-month-old, a 3-year-old, a 6-year-old, a 13-year-old, and a 15-year-old.