Haiti

Sixteen members of Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries are U.S. citizens, including 5 children. The 400 Mawazo gang that took the group specializes in mass kidnappings and seeks a $17 million ransom.

Police in Haiti say the gang that perpetrated the kidnappings, known as 400 Mawozo, is known for such extortions in a country that’s seen kidnappings skyrocket this year amid political instability.

A gang known as 400 Mawozo kidnapped 17 people, including members of Millersburg, Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries and five children outside of Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Saturday.

Seventeen missionaries were kidnapped by an armed gang in Haiti on Saturday. It was the latest in what experts are calling a kidnapping crisis in the country — a crisis largely driven by one gang.

Critics say ending temporary protected status for people from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Sudan will devastate families and communities, especially during the coronavirus pandemic.

Many Haitians in the U.S. have been protected from deportation since a 2010 earthquake, but the DHS says Haiti has improved enough for their return. The NAACP says the decision is racially motivated.

After various rounds of voting were annulled, canceled, rescheduled and challenged, Haiti's electoral council has declared businessman Jovenel Moise the winner. He'll be sworn in on Feb. 7.

On Thursday, Ban Ki-moon apologized to the Haitian people: "We simply did not do enough with regard to the cholera outbreak."

The Category 4 storm dumped rain on southwestern Haiti on Tuesday morning and lashed the island with maximum sustained winds of up to 145 mph. The hurricane is continuing north toward Cuba.

Update on the humanitarian relief and reconstruction efforts in Haiti following the devastating earthquake, with The Ohio State University Haiti…