SW News: At least 389 kidnappings were reported in the Caribbean nation of Haiti in the first three months of this year, according to a report from the Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights (CARDH) on Tuesday. This is a three-fold increase from the final quarter of 2022.

More than three times as many kidnappings as the 127 reported in the previous quarter and a 72% rise from the same time last year were reported between January and March.

In the report, the Port-au-Prince-based human rights research organization suggested that the "exponential growth" may be the result of a need to make up for losses brought on by late-2017 international sanctions.

Two US citizens from Florida are still missing in Haiti. According to CNN, Abigail Toussaint and Jean-Dickens Toussaint, both 33, were taken near the capital Port-au-Prince and have been held for days. A relative of the couple started an online petition for their release. The couple was on a trip to visit family and attend a festival when they were kidnapped during a bus ride.

According to CARDH, the rise could also be the result of new gang alliances formed as they expand their territorial control, which would open up new markets for the "kidnapping industry."

In 2021, while on a missionary trip to Haiti planned by the Ohio-based Christian Help Ministries, 17 missionaries from the United States and Canada were kidnapped and held captive for ransom. Twelve of the captives had reportedly escaped on their own, despite the group's claims that ransom had been paid for their release.

The rights group also pointed to the possibility of future elections and the growth of civilian defence organizations defending neighborhoods from gangs in place of a police force that was under-equipped and was thus vulnerable to gang reprisal.

"Gangs use extreme violence (all types of torture) to coerce parents and families to pay significant sums of money that they do not have." The report said citing severe burns, gang rapes, and hangings.

CARDH found 29 foreigners were victims of the 389 kidnappings. Haiti has experienced an increase in such kinds of criminal activities, particularly since the July assassination of President Jovenel Moise, which created a power vacuum and the already perilous security situation in Haiti substantially deteriorated. In 2021, as many as 1,009 kidnappings were recorded in comparison to 857 reported during the course of 2022.

With regular gunfights between police officers and gangs in recent months, the security situation has gotten worse. Many thousands of people have been uprooted as a result of bloody territorial wars.