Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) The gang that kidnapped a group of 17 American & Canadian missionaries in Haiti has asked for $1 million each for their release.
The 16 American citizens & 1 Canadian were kidnapped by the powerful "400 Mawozo" gang on Saturday after visiting an orphanage in Croix-des-Bouquets, a northeast suburb of the capital Port-au-Prince, over the weekend.
Their abduction is part of a wave of indiscriminate kidnappings that has become more brazen as the country suffers from political instability, civil unrest, lack of quality healthcare & severe poverty.
Haitian Justice Minister Liszt Quitel told CNN the kidnappers have demanded a total of $17 million for the group's release & that they were being held in a location outside the suburb.
The missionaries are affiliated with the Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries, which says the abducted group is made up of 5 men, 7 women & 5 children.
Quitel said the five children abducted include an 8-month-old baby & children ages 3, 6, 14 & 15 years old.
The kidnappers first called Christian Aid Ministries' staff in Haiti at 4:53 p.m. on Saturday, stating their ransom demands at the time of the call, Quitel added. Several calls between the kidnappers & the missionary group have taken place since then.
Quitel said that both Haitian police negotiators & the FBI are advising the missionary group on how to proceed & that negotiations are ongoing. FBI agents are on the ground in Haiti assisting with the investigation but are not leading the negotiations, nor have they spoken directly with the kidnappers.
"The FBI is part of a coordinated US government effort to get the Americans involved to safety. Due to operational considerations, no further information is available at this time," an FBI spokesperson told CNN.
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