400 Mawozo are a gang operating in Haiti. They are believed to be behind the kidnapping of a group of American missionaries working for Christian Aid Ministries.
400 Mawozo Missionary Kidnapping
Police: 400 Mawozo Kidnapped Missionaries In Port-au-Prince. “The gang, known as the 400 Mawozo, abducted the missionaries in the Ganthier commune east of the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, police inspector Frantz Champagne told The Associated Press on Sunday. The 400 Mawozo has been also blamed by Haitian news agency Juno7 for the kidnapping of a group of five Catholic priests and two nuns earlier this year near the site of Saturday’s abduction.” [NBC]
Officials: 400 Mawozo Want $17 Million Ransom. “The Haitian gang that abducted a group of American and Canadian missionaries is asking for $1 million each for their release, a total of $17 million, a top Haitian official said on Monday. Justice Minister Liszt Quitel said the FBI and Haitian police are in contact with the kidnappers and seeking the release of the missionaries, abducted last weekend just outside the capital Port-au-Prince by a gang called 400 Mawozo.” [WSJ]
Five Men, Seven Women, Five Children Abducted. “The group is composed of five men, seven women and five children, Christian Aid Ministries said Sunday. One of the missionaries is a Canadian citizen, the group said.” [NBC]
Christian Aid Ministries Request “Urgent Prayer.” “We request urgent prayer for the group of Christian Aid Ministries workers who were abducted while on a trip to visit an orphanage on Saturday, October 16. We are seeking God’s direction for a resolution, and authorities are seeking ways to help.” [Christian Aid Ministries]
400 Mawozo Reportedly Kidnapped Group In April. “The editorial staff of Juno7 learned from a source close to the victims that five Catholic priests from the congregation of priests of Saint Jacques, two nuns as well as two other people were kidnapped by the 400 mawozo gang, this Sunday, April 11, in the town. of the Croix-des-Bouquets.” [Juno 7]
400 Mawozo Started With Car Theft, Now Kidnap. “Once notorious for car theft, the 400 Mawozo has pioneered “collective” kidnappings of large groups of victims from buses and cars, according to the Center for Analysis and Research for Human Rights (CARDH), a Port-au-Prince-based nonprofit.” [CNN]
Report: More Than 600 Kidnappings In Haiti In 2021. “This year has been particularly bad, with more than 600 kidnappings recorded in the first three quarters of 2021, compared with 231 over the same period last year, according to a local civil society group.” [BBC]
One of the first political bloggers in the world, Oliver Willis has operated OliverWillis.com since 2000. Contributor at Media Matters for America and The American Independent. Follow on Twitter at @owillis. Full bio.