St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr Terrence Drew on Tuesday said his government is continuing to monitor the situation in Haiti where the island’s Honorary Consul, Harold Marzouka Jr had been kidnapped over the weekend.
Prime Minister Drew, who is in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad attending a two-day regional symposium on violence as a public health issue, said that his government is still receiving information regarding the abduction.
On Saturday, heavily armed people kidnapped Marzouka Jr, who is also a businessman in Haiti, where criminal gangs are engaged in kidnapping for ransom.
“We are still gathering information and so far, as far as we are concerned, there has been no loss of life and we continue to work. But at this time, we are continuing to get information,” Drew stated.
In an earlier statement, the government said it is outraged by the kidnapping of the Honorary Consul and his father and that the Consulate’s official vehicle was also seized.
“The Government of St Kitts and Nevis expresses outright condemnation of this and other cowardly acts which lawless agents in Haiti continue to indiscriminately utilize to terrorize Haitian citizens and residents alike,” the statement said.
“The Government of St Kitts and Nevis is deeply concerned about the safety of Mr Marzouka and hope that he will be returned to his home and loved ones soon. It is the Government’s wish that the Marzouka family will find solace in the fact that the Government and people of St Kitts and Nevis stand in solidarity with them at this undoubtedly traumatic time,” the statement added.
The St Kitts and Nevis government called on “those who are bent on committing these criminal and heinous undertakings to cease the violence,” while reiterating the appeal to international partners for short-term assistance to address the security and humanitarian crises in the Caricom country.
CMC/
