An American nurse and her child in Haiti have been freed by their abductors after their kidnapping in late July drew international attention to a wave of anarchic violence gripping the capital, Port-au-Prince.
El Roi Haiti, a faith-based humanitarian organization, said in a brief statement on Wednesday that Alix Dorsainvil, the group’s community nurse and the wife of the group’s director, was released along with her child after they were held in Port-au-Prince.
The statement provided no further details, including when they were freed.
They had been abducted on July 31 from El Roi’s campus near the capital, and the U.S. State Department had said that American officials were working with their Haitian counterparts to get them released.
“There is still much to process and to heal from in this situation,” El Roi said in its statement. “We are so thankful for everyone who joined us in prayer and supported us during this crisis.”
The kidnapping of Ms. Dorsainvil and her child had drawn scrutiny to a surge in abductions for profit as gangs have taken control over large swaths of Port-au-Prince.
While most kidnappings involve Haitian citizens, foreigners have also been abducted in high-profile cases; the U.S. Embassy in Haiti ordered the departure of nonemergency government personnel the same day that Ms. Dorsainvil and her child were abducted.
Vigilante groups have recently begun fighting back against the abduction gangs, unleashing a wave a gruesome executions of suspected gang members.
In a bid to ease Haiti’s security crisis, Kenya’s government has said it was prepared to lead a multinational force, including 1,000 Kenyan police officers, to the Caribbean island nation. The Bahamas has also agreed to support the force by supplying 150 personnel.
The Biden administration has expressed support for the Kenyan plan, and is seeking the approval of the United Nations Security Council for the deployment of such a contingent.
