PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A notorious Haitian gang known for brazen kidnappings and killings has been accused by police of abducting 17 missionaries from a U.S.-based organization. Five children were believed to be among those kidnapped. Haitian police said Sunday that the 400 Mawozo gang kidnapped the group in Ganthier, a commune that lies east of the capital of Port-au-Prince. The gang's name roughly translates to 400 “inexperienced men.” It controls the Croix-des-Bouquets area that includes Ganthier, where authorities say gang members carry out kidnappings and carjackings and extort business owners. Haiti is once again struggling with a spike in gang-related kidnappings that had diminished in recent months.
Rodrigo Abd/AP
FILE - A view of the densely populated Jalousie neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. A group of 17 U.S. missionaries including children was kidnapped by a gang in Haiti on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021 according to a voice message sent to various religious missions by an organization with direct knowledge of the incident. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, file)
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