Out of Control

January 29, 2006: Three French aid workers, and their Haitian driver, were released by their kidnappers. No ransom, it was said, was paid. One of the captives was an 85 year old  nun. Kidnappings are down. In December there were over five a day, while in January there have only been one or two a day. Potential victims are more careful and better guarded (or have left the country), and police and peacekeepers have been more active in neighborhoods where the kidnapping gangs operate. 

January 28, 2006: Some police are moonlighting as gangsters, including kidnapping.

January 25, 2006: Three French aid workers, and their Haitian driver, were  kidnapped outside the capital, and $500,000 ransom was demanded. This has raised an international stink, making it clear how out of control things were in Haiti.