Haiti gang leader threatens to ‘put a bullet in the heads’ of kidnapped US missionaries
A KIDNAPPER involved in the abduction of a group of missionaries in Haiti has threatened to “put a bullet in the heads of these Americans” if the gang’s ransom demands are not met.
Wilson Joseph, the leader of the 400 Mawozo gang, asked for $17million – $1million for each of the hostages – in a Youtube video released on Thursday.
The party of 16 Americans and one Canadian, which includes five children, were on a trip organised by the Ohiobased Christian Aid Ministries when they were seized last weekend.
“I swear by thunder that if I don’t get what I’m asking for, I will put a bullet in the heads of these Americans,” said Mr Joseph, better known by his alias, Lamo Sanjou.
The video also includes footage of what appear to be five dead men lying in coffins. Mr Joseph described them as “fallen soldiers”, blaming their deaths on police chief Leon Charles, who resigned this week.
“Leon Charles made me cry, gentlemen. When it was my turn, I cried my eyes out, and when I make you cry, I will make you cry tears of blood,” he added. The missionaries were not present in the video.
Their seizure has focused global attention on Haiti’s dire kidnapping problem, which has worsened amid economic and political crises in the Caribbean nation leading to spiralling levels of violence.
Confirming the video was authentic, a senior US state department official said: “If you are a kidnapper, your job is to say those kind of things. We need to work with our Haitian law enforcement partners and the families and the institutions to try and move this process forward to a safe resolution.”