US government officials are still unsure of the status of an American nurse and her young daughter who were kidnapped in Haiti.
Hundreds of people have been reported kidnapped since January, marking a significant increase in cases, according to the Associated Press. The power of Haiti's gangs has increased since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021.
The surge in violent crime has resulted in a spike in violent civilian vigilante groups in the nation.
Alix Dorsainvil and her daughter were kidnapped on Thursday, sparking an angry march of approximately 200 Haitians on the nation's capital to voice their anger. Ms Dorsainvil was working for a nonprofit Christian ministry El Roi Haiti when she was taken. She is the wife of the ministry's founder, Sandro Dorsainvil.
US State Department spokesman Matt Miller would not provide further details concerning the abductees' statuses.
“Obviously, the safety and security of American citizens overseas is our highest priority. We are in regular contact with the Haitian authorities. We’ll continue to work with them and our US government interagency partners, but because it’s an ongoing law enforcement investigation, there’s not more detail I can offer,” he said in a written statement to the Associated Press on Monday.
Many nonprofits — which are some of the few remaining aid organisations operating in regions of the country most afflicted by gang violence — have closed due to the worsening violence.
Among those is Doctors Without Borders, which announced earlier this month it was suspending its services at one of its hospitals after 20 armed men burst into an operating room and kidnapped a patient.
A woman who was waiting for a checkup at the nonprofit witnessed Ms Dorsainvil's abduction. She recalled seeing a man enter, pull out a gun, and tell her to relax.
A girl carries a sign that reads in Creole “Free school is broken. Release the nurse,” during a march to demand the freedom of New Hampshire nurse Alix Dorsainvil and her daughter, who have been reported kidnapped— (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
“When I saw the gun, I was so scared,” Ms Louima said. “I said, ‘I don’t want to see this, let me go.’”
Other community members told the Associated Press that the armed men demanded a $1m ransom — which had become standard practice for gangs involved in abductions.
The US State Department issued an advisory warning Americans to avoid traveling to Haiti on the same day the aid worker was abducted. It also ordered nonemergency personnel to leave the country citing the widespread kidnappings.
The protesters who demanded action at the capital carried signs supporting the aid worker, including one that read "she is doing good work in the community, free her."
Mr Dorsainvil asked for the public's prayers for his wife in a blog post on Monday.
“Please continue to pray with us for the protection and freedom of Alix and her daughter," he wrote. "As our hearts break for this situation, we also continue to pray for the country and people of Haiti and for freedom from the suffering they endure daily.”
