Haiti gang frees 2 victims

15 missionaries still held captive

Two of the 17 missionaries kidnapped in Haiti have been released, U.S.-based Christian Aid Ministries said Sunday in a statement on its website.

The group, which includes 16 Americans and a Canadian, was kidnapped on Oct. 16 by a notorious gang east of Haiti’s capital.

“We have learned that two of the hostages in Haiti were released. We praise God for this! Only limited information can be provided, but we are able to report that the two hostages who were released are safe, in good spirits, and being cared for,” CAM said.

The charity, based in Ohio, said it cannot provide or confirm the names of those released, the reasons for their release, where they are from or their current location.

“We ask that those who have more specific information about the release and the individuals involved would safeguard that information,” CAM said.

It encouraged people to continue to pray for the full resolution of the situation

The group, which included five children, the youngest of whom is 8 months old, was grabbed at gunpoint in Ganthier, which is part of Croix-des-Bouquets, a sprawling suburb located east of metropolitan Port-au-Prince. The gang, 400 Mawozo gang, had demanded $17 million — $1 million a head — in order to release them. One of its leaders also threatened to “put a bullet” in their head if the ransom wasn’t paid.

As the missionaries and their relatives continued to be held, Christian Aid Ministries, the charity they worked for, asked for prayers.

“We are still waiting and praying for the group of 17 to be released, if God so wills,” CAM said in a statement on its website on Nov. 10. “We request continued prayer for the kidnappers, that God

would soften their hearts and that they would experience His love and goodness. As you pray, remember the millions of Haitians who are suffering through a time of serious upheaval and unrest. We desire that God would be their ‘refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble’ Psalm 46:1.”

Federal Bureau of Investigation agents had flown to Haiti the day after the kidnapping.

They were later joined by other agents, who spent more than three weeks assisting the families and Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries with the gang’s ransom requests.

Even while the group was held in captivity, other kidnappings continue to occur in Haiti, where the surge in gang violence is also fueling a shortage in diesel and gasoline.

Around the same time of the kidnappings, gangs began blocking fuel tankers from accessing the country’s two fuel distribution terminals. The shortage is affecting everything from banks to schools and hospitals, to the country’s potable water supply.