American couple held for ransom in Haiti released nearly a month later
Written by ABC Audio. All rights reserved. on April 14, 2023
(NEW YORK) — After being held for ransom for nearly a month in Haiti, a Florida couple was released Thursday after negotiations with their kidnappers, the Haitian National Police and the couple’s family told ABC News.
Jean-Dickens Toussaint and Abigail Toussaint, who were visiting relatives in Haiti, were kidnapped on March 18 while traveling on a bus from Port-au-Prince, according to their family members.
“They stopped the bus at a stop and they asked for the Americans on the bus and their escorts to come off the bus and then they took them,” Christie Desormes, the couple’s niece, told ABC Affiliate WPLG last month.
The family initially learned about the ransom demands after the friend escorting the Toussaints contacted his relatives, Desormes said.
The family paid the kidnappers’ $6,000 demand but they then raised the price to $200,000 per person, according to Desormes.
The exact details of the conditions of the couple’s release weren’t immediately revealed. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. embassy.
The Touissants, both 33, have a 2-year-old son, but he wasn’t with them during the trip, according to relatives.
The State Department advises Americans not to travel to Haiti “due to kidnapping, crime, and civil unrest.”
ABC News’ Meredith Deliso and Desiree Adib contributed to this report.
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