WASHINGTON – Two US citizens have been kidnapped in Haiti, State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel confirmed on Thursday, adding that Washington is in regular contact with the Haitian authorities and will continue to work with them.

Mr Patel declined to provide further details.

CNN reported last week that Florida couple Abigail and Jean-Dickens Toussaint had been kidnapped on March 18 in Haiti and were being held captive under ransom demands.

The couple went to Haiti to visit family and attend a festival, but were kidnapped during their bus ride from Port-au-Prince, CNN reported, citing a woman claiming to be the victims’ niece.

Gangs in Haiti have grown in strength since the 2021 assassination of then President Jovenel Moise, with large portions of the capital and much of the countryside considered lawless territory.

The security situation has devolved further in recent months, with routine gunfights between police officers and the gangs.

Bloody turf battles have left hundreds dead and thousands displaced.

Seventeen missionaries from the United States and Canada were taken hostage and held for ransom in 2021 while on a trip to Haiti organised by the Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries.

The group said ransom money was paid for the release of the captives, but a dozen had escaped on their own. REUTERS