The footage shot Wednesday but released Thursday on social media showed Wilson Joseph, wearing a suit and surrounded by armed men, in front of coffins containing the bodies of five members of his gang.

“Since I’m not getting what I need, I’ll kill these Americans,” Joseph said, speaking in Haitian Creole.

A senior US official speaking on condition of anonymity said the video appeared to be genuine.

“As far as I know, the video that appeared online today is legitimate,” the official told reporters late Thursday. “It’s not a fake video as far as we can tell right now.”

“We are in contact with the Christian Aid Missionaries. We are in contact constantly with Haitian National Police. The FBI is on the ground in Haiti and in contact with all the parties involved,” the official added.

The kidnappers are demanding $17 million ransom for the hostages’ freedom, security sources have told AFP.

On Saturday the group of 17 US and Canadian missionaries and their children were kidnapped in broad daylight while on a visit to an orphanage in the heart of an area in eastern Port-au-Prince, which is under control of the gang.

The Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries, to which the abducted missionaries belong, said the group included 12 adults aged 18-48, along with five children aged eight months, three, six, 13 and 15.

The United States has advised Americans not to travel to Haiti, in particular, due to kidnappings they say regularly include American citizens.

Since December 2020, Haitian police have sought Joseph for crimes including assassination, kidnapping, vehicle theft, and hijacking of cargo trucks.

– Controlled by gangs –

Meanwhile on Thursday motor-taxi drivers blocked roads and snared traffic in the Haitian capital to protest against fuel shortages caused by gangs controlling oil access.

Across the city, demonstrators have voiced outrage over being forced to buy gasoline on the black market.

Gangs’ tightening grip on Port-au-Prince since June has prevented secure access to two of Haiti’s three oil terminals.

Armed groups hijacked more than a dozen tankers at the third, located in the Cite Soleil slum, in early September.

On Thursday, near one barricade of flaming tires, protestors accused authorities of favoring fuel imports over renewable energy.

“We don’t have an electricity grid in Haiti, so we have to look for diesel to run a generator,” said one 30-something student who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons.

“We have all the sun in the world but solar panels are overpriced,” he said.

Against the backdrop of growing gang influence, Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced late Thursday the appointment of a new police chief, Frantz Elbe, after the resignation of his predecessor Leon Charles.

“It’s time to get to work. We would like public peace to be restored, to return to normal life, and to find the path of democracy. Finally, we would like to organize elections,” said Henry on Twitter.

Like many of you, I have been soberly watching the situation unfolding in Afghanistan.   I know it has surfaced many emotions for people across the world, especially those who have personal connections with Afghanistan and the Afghan people.  Whether justified or unjustified, war is always a tragic consequence of the Fall.  While in war we can witness the greatness of human courage and selflessness, we also realize the depths of human sinfulness, as poet Robert Burns wrote, “man’s inhumanity to man.”

Please join me in prayer for the people of Afghanistan, those Afghans and Americans seeking safe passage out of the country, and those on the ground continuing to help.  Pray for wisdom for leaders at all levels who face very difficult decisions.  Pray for the ever-growing underground Church in Afghanistan.  Even more, pray that all Afghanis, especially those in power, are met by the Holy Spirit and come to personally know the risen Christ.  Please join me in prayer and fasting with special prayers in our worship services this coming Sunday.

I want to send a personal message to all the military, foreign service, civil service, contractors, missionaries, and aid workers, and their families, who have given so much of their blood, sweat, and tears in service to their nations and for the welfare of the Afghan people.  Know that your efforts are not in vain.  You selflessly answered the call to service, sacrificing many things, and risking your own life for others.   Many of you bear the scars, visible and invisible.  Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)  These words may resonate so deeply in your souls in a way that many will never understand because they are words that you have lived by.  However, our Lord knows.  He also bears the scars.  It is through His indescribable love for us that He gave His own life on the cross.  The things of this fallen world will disappoint us, but our God never will.  For those who are feeling burdened, please don’t go through this alone.  Please contact your clergy or one of the many veterans’ groups.  We love you and we thank you for all the things you have done.

Additionally, please offer up prayers for all those affected by the recent earthquake and tropical storms, especially those in Haiti, as well as the ongoing COVID pandemic.  The depth of suffering, loss, and heartache so many are experiencing at this time can only be met by the supernatural Presence of the Lord.

As the world seemingly darkens, remember that the Church is to be a light to the world, pointing to the One who is the Light of life.  Let us remain united together in Christ, as citizens of heaven, opposing the powers of darkness, and remembering what Saint Paul wrote: “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)

The Anglican Relief and Development Fund has begun raising funds for support for Afghan refugees and the people of Haiti.  Donations can be made at ardf.org.

In Christ Jesus,

The Most Rev. Dr. Foley Beach
Archbishop and Primate, Anglican Church in North America