American woman, child abducted in Haiti as U.S. tells citizens to leave the country
A New Hampshire woman and her child were abducted Thursday near Haiti’s capital, officials close to the family said. The same day, the U.S. told citizens to leave Haiti immediately due to high gang violence and kidnappings.
Alix Dorsainvil and her child were abducted Thursday morning from the El Roi Haiti’s campus near Port-au-Prince, the organization said. El-Roi is a faith-based humanitarian group that does outreach in Haitian communities.
Dorsainvil, a community nurse, is the wife of the group’s director and was doing work for the organization when she was abducted.
“Alix is a deeply compassionate and loving person who considers Haiti her home and the Haitian people her friends and family,” the organization said. “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.”
The U.S. Department of State said it is aware of reports of the kidnapping and are in regular contact with Haitian authorities.
“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,” the agency said.
Also on Thursday, the State Department ordered non-emergency staff at its embassy in Port-au-Prince to leave Haiti with their eligible family members. A “Do Not Travel” advisory, the highest level, was also reissued for Haiti — advising U.S. citizens to leave the country immediately.
The order and advisory come after recent armed clashes between criminal groups and police in the country’s capital.
The National Human Rights Defense Network said at least 40 people were abducted, 75 murdered and several others escaped assassination attempts between May 1 and July 12, the Washington Post reported.
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