PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) – A Haitian man asserting that he represents a gang who kidnapped a group of American and Canadian missionaries said in a video posted on YouTube on Thursday that he is willing to kill “these Americans” if he does not get what he needs.
The man speaking in the video, dressed in a purple suit, is identifiable as the man known in Haiti by the alias Lamo Sanjou, the leader of the 400 Mawozo gang.
Reuters was unable to independently confirm the veracity of the video or when it was made. It shows the man speaking in the street and surrounded by other, unidentified men. The missionaries are not present.
A Haitian police spokesperson did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
A top Haitian official this week said the kidnappers had requested $17 million for the release of the missionaries.
(Reporting by Gessika Thomas and Brian Ellsworth, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
