The FBI gave scant assistance to a U.S. woman in Haiti who was negotiating her father’s release from a gang kidnapping.
A Haitian-American woman said she received little assistance from the FBI in navigating her father’s gang abduction last month. Doris Michel’s father, an 85-year-old Vietnam veteran, and two other people were taken en route through Martissant, a gang-controlled territory in Haiti. The gang run by Ti Lipli, a member of the G9 Family and Allies — a federation considered one of the largest and most powerful in Haiti — asked for a ransom of $6 million and then increased the price to $10 million. Authorities say ransom demands can range from a couple of hundred dollars to several million. The first time Michel dropped off the money at a specific location, Michel said the gang members claimed they didn’t receive it. When Michel reached out to FBI officials for guidance during continued negotiations, she said the FBI did little to help and advised her to gather more money and restart negotiations.
