Currents News Staff
Twelve of the 17 Christian missionaries kidnapped by gang members in Haiti in October were set free over the last month or so, according to the country’s Justice Minister.
A group of 17 missionaries were kidnapped exactly two months ago to the day here, rather, in a suburb just outside of Port au Prince, not in an area known to be controlled by this particular gang, 400 Mawozo, which is the gang that authorities say was responsible for this kidnapping.
The remaining 12 were released around 5 a.m. local time, according to one source, and they were actually found by members of this community in this neighborhood south of Port au Prince, where they were released.
The people, the locals who saw this group of missionaries just wandering around their neighborhood, alerted authorities to the fact that they had been released. The conditions of their release we’re not yet sure, whether a ransom was paid, exactly how they were let go and why they were let go.
The gang made an initial ransom demand in october of 1 million dollars per hostage, but it is not known the exact circumstances around their release.