Convoy From The United States Embassy Attacked

On Monday, Nov. 14, a fleet of vehicles from the US Embassy in the Haitian capital came under fire from unidentified shooters, injuring a Haitian driver, said reports.

The embassy made a brief statement in which it claimed that shots were also fired at the Haitian National Police (HNP) units.

Reports confirmed that neither the agents nor the embassy personnel suffered any bodily harm and that the driver's injuries do not pose a threat to his life.

According to reports, the convoy was attacked in the Croix-des-Bouquets area, located at the northern entrance to the capital, where the 400 Mawozo armed group operates.

The gang abducted 16 American Christian missionaries and one Canadian missionary on Oct. 16, 2021, and held them for ransom.

Five children were among the missionaries when they were abducted after visiting an orphanage in the slum of Ganthier, a suburb outside of Port-au-Prince.

Following the release of several of them, the group, which belonged to the Christian Aid Ministries religious congregation, was fully released on Dec. 16.

The United States announced a reward of up to $1 million on Monday, Nov. 14, for information that results in the capture of three Haitians suspected of abducting the missionaries.

The suspects are three Haitian citizens, Lanmò Sanjou, also known as Joseph Wilson; Jermaine Stephenson, known as Gaspiyay, and Vitel'Homme Innocent, leaders of two kidnapping gangs and accused of participating in transnational organized crime.

The 400 Mawozo, loosely translated from Creole, means 400 simpletons, or untrained men. Although kidnappings have been the gang's new trade, it is known for threatening the use of rape and assassination to maintain power over the areas it controls. According to former Haitian Senator Jean Renel Senatus who headed the justice and security commission, the group was originally called "Texas" and was known for holding up residents and stealing motorcycles.

Senatus himself had also received death threats from the group. Their alleged leader is Wilson Joseph who goes by the nickname "Lanmò San Jou" or "Lanmò Sanjou", which means "death doesn't know which day it's coming" or "death has no appointment."