James Boyard is the highest-ranking official kidnapped in the country in years

James Boyard, the chief of staff of the Haitian Defense Ministry, has been kidnapped along with his family amid escalating gang violence, media reports claimed on Saturday.

Boyard, a respected security expert and author, serves as chief of staff to Haiti's newly appointed defense minister, Mario Andresol, and as inspector general of the national police.

Local media reported that unidentified armed men snatched Boyard on Thursday in Bourdon, one of the few areas of the capital, Port-au-Prince, still considered relatively safe, though most of the city is controlled by gangs. A person familiar with the situation confirmed the kidnapping to AP.

Police sources told the New York Times that Boyard was abducted along with his wife and six-year-old daughter, a US citizen, and that a ransom was demanded. While it remains unclear who carried out the kidnapping, investigators reportedly suspect Christ-Roi Chery, known as Chrisla, the leader of the Ti Bwa gang, a major armed group. A spokesman for the Haitian police declined to comment on the case.

The Caribbean nation of nearly 12 million people has been trapped in a cycle of violence since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise, which created a power vacuum that allowed armed gangs to expand their influence largely unchecked.

Groups controlling major highways, ports, and entire communities have prevented the authorities from holding elections while carrying out kidnappings, killings, and attacks on state institutions. Officials say elections scheduled for later this summer are unlikely to take place due to the continuing violence.

A Kenyan-led, UN-backed mission known as the Multinational Security Support (MSS), deployed to Haiti in 2024 to help curb the violence, was able to secure the presidential palace and reopen several key roads, but struggled to make further gains.

Last autumn, the UN Security Council approved a restructuring of the effort, authorizing a new 5,550-strong Gang Suppression Force of soldiers and police officers with powers beyond those of the MSS, including authority to conduct operations aimed at "neutralizing" gangs.

According to UN figures released earlier this month, nearly 1.5 million people have been displaced by violence in Haiti since 2022, and more than 16,000 have been killed. Local rights groups put the death toll closer to 20,000.

Kidnappings remain widespread in Haiti. At least 647 people, including women and children, were abducted last year, according to the UN, with ransom demands often higher for foreigners and dual nationals. While recent high-profile cases have targeted journalists and foreign missionaries, Boyard is the highest-ranking official kidnapped in the country in years.

(RT.com)