American Nurse, Her Child, Kidnapped in Haiti Amid Continued Unrest

An American nurse from New Hampshire was kidnapped along with her son while doing community work in Haiti. The nonprofit she worked for confirmed her kidnapping on Saturday.

El Roi Haiti released a statement regarding the kidnapping of nurse Alix Dorsainvil, who serves as a community health nurse and is also married to its founder and director, Sandro Dorsainvil. She was kidnapped with their son on Thursday morning near Port-au-Prince.

According to the group, she and her child were taken "while serving in our community ministry." NBC News noted that the kidnapping happened on the same day that the State Department ordered non-emergency government employees and families to leave Haiti as the country descends further into chaos.

"Alix is a deeply compassionate and loving person who considers Haiti her home and the Haitian people her friends and family. Alix has worked tirelessly as our school and community nurse to bring relief to those who are suffering as she loves and serves the people of Haiti in the name of Jesus," said the group in its statement.

The State Department order was made "due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and poor health care infrastructure." Currently, gangs have taken over a vast majority of the capital, Port-au-Prince, with police struggling to contain the ongoing violence. This crisis even forced citizens to arm themselves and form vigilante groups in an effort to keep the gangs out of their neighborhoods.

US Authorities Already Aware of American Nurse's Kidnapping in Haiti

Meanwhile, a State Department spokesperson recently spoke with CNN regarding the Haiti kidnapping of the American nurse and her child. The official told the outlet that American authorities already know about the abductions and are already working with Haitian authorities and US government interagency partners.

"The U.S. Department of State and our embassies and consulates abroad have no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas," said the State Department spokesperson.

Alix Dorsainvil is still a US citizen even though she moved to Haiti after her husband invited her to provide nursing care for the children at a Haitian school. She still stayed in the Caribbean country even as it plunged into turmoil.

Local Gangs in Haiti Target Foreigners in Kidnap-For-Profit Scheme

Haiti gangs often get their funding in a kidnapping-for-profit scheme as gangs target Haitians to extort money from their loved ones. However, it seems that they are now targeting foreigners as well.

These Haitian gangs target rich and poor alike, and foreigners have become very tempting targets as they are seen to pay a bigger ransom than locals. One of the highest-profile cases happened in 2021 where 17 missionaries from the United States and Canada were abducted by a local gang.

These Americans and Canadians were reportedly traveling on the road north of Port-au-Prince before the gang abducted them. They were held for over a month before finally being freed.

CNN noted that Haitian authorities registered 1,014 kidnappings from January to June 2923, A total of 256 women, 13 girls, and 24 boys, were abducted per a UN report. The American nurse and her child are but the latest in a growing number of cases.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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