Haiti Kidnappings Worry Officials
Nicole King - All Headline News Staff Writer Port-au-Prince, Haiti (AHN) - A string of bold kidnappings in broad daylight are heightening fears that street gangs are trying to destabilize the country's newly installed government. Over the past week, three Americans were taken. The three were released unharmed after negotiations with the FBI. At least 30 people have been kidnapped so far this month. Foreigners are especially targeted because they typically bring in higher ransoms. The kidnappings are disruptive to the calm that President Rene Preval's administration has brought to the country since May. Preval's administration follows a revolt that brought down former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004. U.N. officials say the gangs are politically motivated and are trying to disrupt the new government, some of which are still loyal to Aristide. Others, though, say the gangs are simply after money and blame Haiti's notoriously corrupt justice system.
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