{"id":22031,"date":"2022-05-02T08:54:14","date_gmt":"2022-05-02T12:54:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=22031"},"modified":"2022-05-02T08:54:14","modified_gmt":"2022-05-02T12:54:14","slug":"haiti-gang-holding-kidnapped-diplomat-for-ransom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2022\/05\/02\/haiti-gang-holding-kidnapped-diplomat-for-ransom\/","title":{"rendered":"Haiti gang holding kidnapped diplomat for ransom"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Dominican Republic has urged Haiti to do everything in its power to ensure the safe release of one of its diplomats who was kidnapped on Friday.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The trade attach\u00e9 at the Dominican embassy in Port-au-Prince, Carlos Guill\u00e9n, was seized by gang members while he was travelling to neighbouring Dominican Republic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Dominican officials said that the 400 Mawozo gang was behind the kidnapping.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The gang is infamous for kidnapping foreigners and demanding high ransoms.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Demonstrators<\/span><\/div>
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Haitians took to the streets at the end of March to protest against the high levels of crime (Image: Reuters)<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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In October, 400 Mawozo abducted 16 US citizens and a Canadian who were in Haiti for the NGO Christian Aid Ministries. The gang demanded a ransom of $1m (\u00a3795,000) for each of them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The missionaries and their families all managed to regain their freedom two months later.\u00a0Christian Aid Ministries said 12 of them had escaped their captors<\/a>\u00a0and that five others had been released earlier.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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It was not clear if any ransom was paid.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Dominican newspaper List\u00edn Diario said Mr Guill\u00e9n had been travelling from the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, by road to Jiman\u00ed, a city across the border in the Dominican Republic, when contact with him was lost.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The Dominican ambassador in Haiti, Faruk Castillo, said his colleague had been kidnapped in the Croix-des-Bouquets area, east of the capital.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Croix-des-Bouquets is the stronghold of 400 Mawozo, which security sources describe as the largest criminal gang in Haiti.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Dominican media published a photo of the kidnapped diplomat and reported that the gang had demanded $500,000 for his release.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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La banda \u201c400 Mawozo\u201d que secuestr\u00f3 a Carlos Guill\u00e9n Tatis, consejero agr\u00edcola y comercial de RD en Hait\u00ed, pide 500 mil d\u00f3lares para su liberaci\u00f3n, seg\u00fan nuestras fuentes. El Gobierno Dominicano ha solicitado a la canciller\u00eda haitiana la \u201cinmediata investigaci\u00f3n\u201d sobre el rapto. pic.twitter.com\/1wAPGROBuo<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Vargavila River\u00f3n (@vargavila) May 1, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n