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On july 7th and this has been an issue that has plagued haiti for a long time, but this year significantly, a significant spike in kidnappings. and i have a couple of statistics i can read for you. since january, at least 628 kidnappings have taken place. 29 of whom, before this latest kidnapping, 29 of whom were foreigners. that's according to data from a nonprofit group that tracks this stuff in port-au-prince. these gangs that do this, they are looking for ransom money, which they are often paid, sometimes to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. depending on which analyst you speak...

Hello again. thank you so much for joining me this sunday. i'm fredricka witfield. the mass kidnapping in haiti, an ohio based christian aid group has confirmed 16 americans and one canadian have been taken hostage, made up of 12 adults and five children. the group was taken hostage traveling to a small village visiting an orphanage north of haiti's capital city. "the washington post" reported one of the victims posted a call for help on whatsapp, as the group was being taken by armed gang members. cnn cannot independently verify the authenticity of this message or the report at this time. k...

I'm curious to your reaction to this developing situation in haiti. we have "the new york times" reporting that while the country is accustomed to lawlessness, the abduction of such a large group has shocked the officials because of its brazenness. how unusual is this? >> unfortunately, it's very common now in haiti, alex. at least 628 people have been kidnapped since the first of the year. dozens of foreigners. oftentimes, they're doing it even without face coverings, meaning they don't really care who knows their identity at this point. and so it's brazen, it's common, and if the reports are...

Killed thousands of people. there have been 328 reported kidnappings since the first of the year. the scale could be even bigger. >> at least 628 people have been kidnapped since the first of the year. dozens of foreigners. oftentimes they were doing it even without face coverings, mean they don't really care who knows their identity at this point. and so it's brazen, it's common. and if the reports are true that 17 americans have been kidnapped, including children, we have to get them back immediately and we have to hold those accountable who did the kidnapping because they don't want open se...

That one of the victims posted a call for help on what'sapp, an international messaging service as they were being taken by an armed gang. we cannot verify the awe authenticity of this message. kidnappings have surged this year. 628 kidnappings have taken place since january acacording to a human rights group. so u.s. officials say they are aware of the report but what steps will the state department take. >> they are not saying more at this time other than they're aware of this report and they're reiterating the safety and the welfare of those abroad. this is something they're very focused on...