The driver of a Cuban medical assistance mission in Haiti, kidnapped on January 23, in Port-au-Prince, by gang members, has been released, announced the Cuban Ministry of Health. ” In the afternoon of February 1, the collaborator Alejandro Aguilera Milanés was released “, is it written in a press release, which specifies ” We thank the Haitian authorities and all the people of good will who immediately mobilized to obtain the employee’s release as quickly and safely as possible “.
The hostage, who therefore remained in the hands of his captors for 10 days, was part of a team of 250 doctors, nurses and support staff.
Last year, a female doctor, also a member of the Cuban medical mission, was abducted and kept for 10 days, too, before being released.
For more than two years, gangs have multiplied heinous kidnappings in the capital of Haiti, kidnapping people of all socio-economic origins and of all nationalities.
Haiti has been mired in a political crisis for several years and the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021 has profoundly worsened the situation. Gangs also enjoy widespread impunity and violence has increased in recent years.
In 2022, the UN recorded 1,359 kidnappings and more than 2,000 murders in the country, a third more than the previous year.
