BBC News
Ten missionaries have been released and three are still missing after they were abducted by gang members in southern Haiti.
Warrants for the arrest of others believed to be involved were issued.
Two missionaries from the US and one from Ohio had been held hostage on the fourth floor of the Tropicana Hotel in Haiti’s Grand-Anse region.
They were part of a six-member group said to be part of a controversial group.
The seven other missionaries were released in January after being held for two days.
The group is said to be part of the 3350 Apostles, a group of Christians with a mission to the needy in the Third World.
The group that was kidnapped is reported to have been en route to a mission at a slum in Port-au-Prince, also referred to as the Roma, which is home to more than 100,000 people, known for its squalid living conditions.
It is believed the gang members may have been acting on behalf of the National Organization of Resistances et Revolucionnaires, a political movement that has been fighting a divisive conflict against several so-called “assassins of the administration” who are accused of smuggling drugs and attempting to steal a key naval port in southwestern Haiti.
The fugitives, mainly businessmen and aid workers, are said to be linked to the Haitian government.
The United States embassy in Haiti has not commented directly on the incident.