An American YouTube star has been kidnapped in Haiti by one of the gangs that have become its de facto rulers, as he was attempting to interview the nation’s most notorious gang leader.
Addison Pierre Maalouf, known online as YourFellowArab or just “Arab,” traveled from his home in Atlanta to interview Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier, the leader of the notorious G9 Family and Allies gang that has seized control of the government, according to Haiti 24.net.
But just 24 hours after he arrived in the country, Maalouf and a Haitian colleague were taken by members of the 400 Mawozo gang on March 14.
He is being held for a $600,000 ransom, and even though $40,000 has already been paid, the kidnappers are continuing to demand a large sum of money to secure Maalouf’s release, the Haitian outlet reports.
As news of the YouTube star’s disappearance spread online Thursday, fellow streamer Lalem confirmed that his friend had been taken hostage.
“Tried keeping it private for two weeks, but it’s getting out everywhere now,” Lalem posted on X.
“Yes, Arab has been kidnapped in Haiti and we’re working on getting him out,” he said, vowing, “he’ll be out soon.”
Lalem also shared the last video that Maalouf posted online, showing him at a hotel in Haiti telling his viewers about the dangers of being in the country.
In the video, Maalouf said he and his crew intended to travel to the capital city of Port-au-Prince, but had to wait until the early morning hours so they could arrive in the sunlight.
Arab/Instagram
@VFXmasih/X
He also notes that Port-au-Prince is “completely run by gangs” and even though they had secured safe passage, “all it takes is one stupid gang member holding an AK-47 for one thing to go wrong.”
Maalouf had earlier posted on March 10 that he was “going on another one of those trips.”
“If I die, thanks for watching what I’ve put out,” he posted on X.
“If I live, all glory to God.”
By Friday, another YouTuber, Miles “Lord Miles” Routledge, claimed he spoke directly with Maalouf using his kidnappers’ phone.
Routledge said Maalouf arrived in the country with “fixer” Sean Roubens Jean Sacra to film the ongoing riots in Haiti, and was kidnapped just 24 hours after he arrived.
“Arab has been kept in a cage in a place on the eastern outskirts of the capital, Port-au-Prince,” Routledge wrote.
“His location is known.”
He claimed there was an attempt to pay the ransom, “but it went wrong and truthfully everyone was out of their depths to help Arab.”
Routledge, a Brit, then went on to criticize the US government and the State Department for failing to secure the Georgian’s release.
He said they were “very hands off on helping, even though Arab is a US citizen.”
Source: https://nypost.com/2024/03/29/world-news/american-youtube-star-kidnapped-in-haiti/