STAY CONNECTED: Have the stories that matter most delivered every night to your email inbox. Subscribe to our daily local news wrap.

Six nuns and two other people kidnapped in Haiti have been released, archbishop says

Jan 25, 2024 | 5:46 AM

Six nuns kidnapped in Haiti last week along with two other people have been released, the archbishop of Port-au-Prince told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The group was released late Wednesday, and everyone is in good condition, said Archbishop Max Leroy Mésidor.

“Thanks to God for helping us,” he said.

He declined to say whether a ransom was paid or provide other details, including who was responsible for the latest high-profile kidnapping that prompted religious leaders to issue a scathing letter criticizing the government for its inaction toward Haiti’s surge in gang-related violence.

The nuns from the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Anne and two other unidentified people were abducted last Friday while traveling aboard a bus in Port-au-Prince, according to religious leaders.

Gangs are estimated to control up to 80% of the capital and were blamed for nearly 2,500 kidnappings last year, an 83% increase compared with the previous year, according to U.N. statistics.

The Associated Press