Officials urge Americans not to travel to island spot amid kidnappings, 6-figure ransom demands

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The U.S.State Department issued anupdated warningadvising Americans not to travel to Haiti — citing widespread kidnappings and ransom demands often reaching into the tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Sharing the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, Haiti has been gripped by escalating gang violence and instability.

In an April 16 travel advisory, the U.S.State Department warned that violent crime is still rampant in theCaribbean nation,particularly in its capital city of Port-au-Prince.

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“The expansion of gang, organized crime and terrorist activity has led to widespread violence,” the advisory noted, citingfirearm-related crimes, carjackings, robberies, sexual assaults, kidnappings and ransom demands.

“Ransom demands are typically in the high tens of thousands to high hundreds of thousands of dollars,” the release said.

View of beach in Haiti with people walking on sand

The U.S.State Department issued a Level 4 travel advisory, warning Americans not to travel to Haiti — pictured here — due to escalating violence and kidnapping threats across the country.(iStock)

Critically, officials also said that local law enforcement “has an extremely limited ability to respond to serious crimes, particularly outside Port-au-Prince and Cap Haitien.”

The statement warned, “When traveling to Haiti, do not engage in activity or behave in a manner that could be in violation of local law and subject you to arrest and detention.Be mindful of potential violations of law.”

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Level 4 is the State Department’s highest level of warning, meaning that Americans may face life-threatening risks and should not travel to the country.

Although the Level 4 advisory has been in place for some time, the State Department added new warnings in this month’s update.

“Armed, anti-gang vigilante groups attack and, in many cases, have killed individuals, including U.S.citizens.”

The advisory also cited unrest, stating that protests and roadblocks are “common and unpredictable,” and that protesters “sometimes damage or destroy infrastructure and can become violent.”

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Haitian police officers deploying in Port-au-Prince street

U.S.officials stressed that safety risks persist across Haiti, including in areas outside the capital city, where law enforcement response is even more limited.(Clarens Siffroy/AFP)

Americans in Haiti are urged to establish “a proof of life protocol” with family — and tochoose a family memberto serve as a point of contact in the case of kidnapping.

View of road in Haiti with small houses and palm trees

The State Department continues to urge Americans to avoid all travel to Haiti due to ongoing security threats and lack of reliable emergency response.(iStock)

Haiti joins a list of other countries that remain on the U.S.State Department’s travel advisory list.

Earlier this month, U.S.officials issued atravel advisoryfor Albania, a cheap destination popular for its Adriatic coastline, over Iran-related tensions.

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On Thursday, the U.S.Embassy inTrinidad and Tobagosaid that Americans should “reconsider travel to Trinidad and Tobago due to crime,” citing a “heightened risk of terrorism.”