By: Nathan Yidi

On Saturday, October 16th, 17 Americans and Canadians were kidnapped in Haiti.  The gang named “400 Mawozo” stopped their Sprinter Van and forced them to go with them.  The gang is asking for $1 million per person.  The 17 people were Christian missionaries who were visiting an orphanage in Croix des Bouquets, which is a suburb of Port au Prince, the capital of Haiti.   They had also been rebuilding some homes that were lost and helping poor people throughout the country. The US missionaries were from Ohio.  There are five men, seven women, and five children.  The age range of the children are 8 months, to 15 years old.  The age range of the adults is 18-48 years old. 

The number of gang members is approximately 150 and they have taken control of Croix des Bouquets.  There are daily confrontations between gang members and the police.  As the civil unrest and desperation increase, so does the number of gang members.  The US FBI are working with Haitian police and investigators.  They hope to capture the gang later this week.