Kidnappers Demand $17 Million for Release of U.S. Missionaries in Haiti

The criminal gang that abducted a group of 17 North American Christian missionaries in Haiti this weekend has demanded $1 million each for their release.

Late Saturday, 17 missionaries from the Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries were kidnapped by an armed gang near the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince on their way home from helping to build an orphanage.

The bus carrying the 12 adults and 5 children — including an 8-month-old baby — was hijacked outside Port-au-Prince, the latest in a string of kidnappings following the murder of President Jovenel Moïse. The FBI has pledged its support in locating and liberating the missionaries, Reuters reported Monday.

According to Haitian police, the kidnapping of 16 Americans and one Canadian was the work of the 400 Mawozo gang, a violent group with a long history of killings, kidnappings, and extortion.