Cuban doctors kidnapped in Haiti, Kidnappers demands ransom

A Cuban doctor named Dr Daymara Perez, who has been working in Haiti since 2019, is currently at the Notre Dame Hospital in Petit-Goave, the southern region of Port-au-Prince. Ten days ago, she was travelling through the Martissant neighbourhood via public bus, on the south edge of Port-au-Prince, when the bus was stopped by an armed group that captured her and dragged her out of the bus.

Cuban doctors kidnapped in Haiti, Kidnappers demands ransom

A Cuban doctor named Dr Daymara Perez, who has been working in Haiti since 2019, is currently at the Notre Dame Hospital in Petit-Goave, the southern region of Port-au-Prince. Ten days ago, she was travelling through the Martissant neighbourhood via public bus, on the south edge of Port-au-Prince, when the bus was stopped by an armed group that captured her and dragged her out of the bus.

The kidnappers have made a demand of a ransom of $1 million, which was later negotiated down to $100,000, out of which $10,000 have been already paid. After receiving information from its embassy in Haiti, the Cuban government confirmed that Dr Perez was released on January 23, in good health.

Dr Perez came to Haiti as part of the Henry Reeve Medical Brigade, comprising almost 400 Cuban medical workers, that has been providing support in Haiti for 22 years. Brigade members have concentrated their efforts mainly in remote, impoverished rural communities, where they supply a very great amount of medical care and public health information.

According to reports, people from Petit-Goave took to the streets, demanding release and freedom for Dr Perez. They have set up a barricade of burning tires and large rocks. On the National Route 2, they blocked the road with a large semitrailer. Youngsters condemned the kidnapping and expressed solidarity with Cuban doctors who provide assistance to the Haitian people.