Biden pressed to prioritize release of US hostages around the world,17 missionaries still captive in Haiti

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – As US-based Christian Aid Ministries continues to call for the release of their seventeen missionaries kidnapped in Haiti last month, the families of 26 Americans still held hostage around the world have expressed frustration with the Biden administration that more is not being done to secure their loved ones’ release, the Christian Post (CP) reports.

The group of seventeen Christian Aid Ministries missionaries, including 16 Americans, one Canadian, and five children, were kidnapped by the 400 Mawozo gang in Haiti on October 16. The notorious gang has threatened to kill the captives unless a $17 million ransom is paid. “Our workers and loved ones are still being held. Voices from around the world continue to cry out to God to sustain the hostages. We desire wisdom from God as we work through this difficult situation,” Christian Aid Ministries told the Christian Post on Monday.

Concerning the Haiti group, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement last week that President Joe Biden has deployed “a significant number of law enforcement specialists and hostage recovery specialists to work closely with the ministry, the families and the Haitian government to try to coordinate and organize a recovery.”

However, 26 other American hostages have been in captivity for much longer than the Christian Aid missionaries, some of them across successive presidential administrations, CP reports. In an open letter to Biden, the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation hostage advocacy group said US hostages were being held in countries including Syria, China, Venezuela, Rwanda, and Iran, but it seems securing their release is not a priority for this administration.

“We are grateful for the times you have personally referred to some of our family members by name in public statements vowing to fight for their release,” the letter to Biden begins. “Yet as of this letter, so many of us remain in the same situation, or worse, more than eight months later. In fact, some of us have endured this burden across multiple administrations. We have not been able to meet with you or even with your national security advisor to discuss our loved ones’ captivity, which leads us to believe that your administration is not prioritizing negotiations and other methods to secure their release.”

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