The 16 US citizens and one Canadian, including 12 adults and five minors, were reportedly kidnapped by '400 Mazowo', a powerful Haitian armed gang notorious for kidnapping groups of people for ransom.

The missionaries, who worked for Ohio-based non-profit religious organization- Christian Aid Ministries- that supplies Haitian children with shelter, food and clothing, and their family members were abducted on Saturday evening when they were traveling by vehicle to Titanyen, north of the capital Port-au-Prince, after visiting Maison La Providence de Dieu orphanage in the Croix des Bouquets area.

CNN reported citing Haitian justice minister Quitel that the kidnappers had demanded a total of $17 million for the missionary group's release while the hostages were being held somewhere outside the Croix-des-Bouquets suburb controlled by the gang.

Quitel said both the National Police negotiators and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are advising the missionary group on how to proceed amid ongoing negotiations, while FBI agents are on the ground in Haiti assisting with the investigation, according to a report by CNN.

Representational photo by Flickr/Alex Proimos via Wikimedia Creative Commons

The FBI, which is part of a coordinated US government effort to get the Americans involved to safety, are not leading the negotiations and its agents on ground have not spoken directly with the kidnappers, CNN reported citing Liszt Quitel.

Haitian authorities and US investigators have denied sharing further information due to operational considerations.

Related article: Group of American missionaries kidnapped by gang members in Haiti

Haiti has one of the highest rates of kidnapping-for-ransom in the world, and since the assasination of President Jovenel Moïse on July 7, rival factions have been trying to gain control, resulting in a rapid increase in the rate of abduction amid lack of security in the country.

According to a report by the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) issued last month, as many as 328 kidnapping victims were reported to the Caribbean  country's National Police in the first eight months of 2021 while the figure was at 234 for all of 2020.