The FBI is warning American citizens against traveling to Haiti as the Caribbean nation experiences heightened violence.
The dire warning comes a month after a Florida couple was ordered off a bus and kidnapped, and as Haiti suffers “the worst human rights and humanitarian emergency in decades,” according to UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
The FBI’s Miami office has seen a 300% increase in the number of kidnappings that have taken place during the first three months of 2023, compared to the same period of time last year, the Miami Herald reported.
The agency declined to release the exact numbers of kidnappings, instead issuing a stern warning to South Florida residents against traveling to Haiti at this time.
“While we understand that there are strong ties between Haiti and South Florida, before traveling there one should consider the trauma and financial costs of being kidnapped not only to themselves but to their family and friends as well,” FBI Supervisory Special Agent Liz Santamaria said.
With UN Security Council set to meet on Wednesday, Guterres will likely reiterate his call for the deployment of an international specialized armed force to Haiti — which has largely been run by criminals since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.
The FBI warning comes two days after an angry mob of vigilantes beat and burned 13 suspected gang members to death in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. The suspected gangsters were stoned and lit on fire with gasoline-soaked tires after they were pulled from police custody by the mob during a traffic stop.
Witnesses claimed the attack came as the suspected gang members were readying to join their associates in a firefight against police.
Before they were able to carry out the fight, cops pulled over a minibus and confiscated weapons from the suspects, who were then “unfortunately lynched by members of the population,” the Haiti National Police said in a brief statement.
Police did not explain how the mob was able to circumvent law enforcement to conduct the brutal bloodshed.
Following the melee, an Associated Press reporter witnessed the 13 bodies being burned in the street.
Six additional burned bodies were found by the AP reporter in the streets of Turgeau, but the news agency could not confirm their cause of death.
An estimated 60% of the city of 1 million residents is controlled by criminals. Canape Vert, a hilly suburban enclave, has avoided falling under gang control.
The men killed on Monday were believed to have been part of the Kraze Barye gang, led by Vitel’Homme Innocent, who is linked to Moïse’s murder and has been accused of helping kidnap 17 US missionaries in 2021.
US officials have arrested at least 11 suspects in South Florida in connection to the assassination.
With Post wires.