Jan. 20—More than a week after being kidnapped, a Cuban doctor remains in captivity awaiting ransom in Haiti, where insecurity fueled by gang violence continues to disrupt essential services.
Daymara Helen Pérez Alabedra was kidnapped eight days ago on her way to Port-au-Prince, a medical colleague who did not want to be identified confirmed to the Miami Herald. Pérez was riding a public bus with other passengers when gang members stopped her in Martissant. The gang-ridden community at the southern entrance to the capital has been the scene of deadly clashes that have forced the displacement of more than 19,000 Haitians from their homes since June.
“She was the only one who was kidnapped,” the doctor said.
The doctor said the gang initially asked for a $1 million ransom and then a $100,000 ransom which they negotiated further. Ultimately, a $10,000 ransom was paid, but Pérez was not released.
This is not unusual in Haiti, where gangs often hold victims even after payment is made.
A Haitian national police spokesman could not immediately confirm Perez’s kidnapping, which has made headlines in the local press.
According to her Facebook page, Pérez is originally from Las Tunas, a province in eastern Cuba, and lived in Grand Goâve, a rural community south of the capital in the Léogâne commune. Pérez lived the last three years in Haiti and worked as a general medicine specialist at Notre Dame Hospital in neighboring Petit-Goâve.
His kidnapping marks the second time that a hospital in the area has been affected by the country’s insecurity crisis. Last Wednesday, a gang in Martissant stole a $38,000 generator destined for the Sainte Croix de Léogâne Hospital. The robbery forced the hospital to close due to a lack of electricity. On Monday, the Rev. Jn Michelin St. Louis, the hospital’s director, said that as of Thursday it had stopped accepting new patients and was trying to find hospitals in the region that would accept seven babies on the neonatal ward.
While the majority of kidnapping victims in Haiti are Haitians, foreigners have also become a target. In October, 16 Americans and a Canadian missionary were kidnapped after visiting an orphanage east of the capital. The last member of the group was released in December after two months in captivity.
Two Cuban technicians were also kidnapped in Port-au-Prince in December and released earlier this month, a source with knowledge of the kidnapping who did not want to be identified told the Miami Herald. The Cuban authorities have not ruled on her release, nor have they denounced the kidnapping of Dr. Pérez. The Cuban embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.
The director general of the Haitian Ministry of Health, Dr. Lauré Adrien, denied reports in the local Haitian press that Pérez’s kidnapping has prompted the Cuban government to remove 78 of its doctors from the country. Adrien said that according to information obtained from the head of the Cuban Medical Brigade in Haiti, there was a charter flight that left Port-au-Prince with 28 people on board. The passenger list includes 18 members of the medical brigade who finished their mission and 10 who went on vacation.
“There have been no departures of 78 Cuban professionals,” Adrien said, adding that there are some 300 members of the Cuban medical brigade working in Haiti, where they provide essential health services. mostly in rural communities.
Adrien said the ministry condemns Pérez’s kidnapping and wants his release as soon as possible. “Regardless of the victim, such an act is reprehensible,” he added.
This story was originally published on January 19, 2022 7:08 pm.