Armed Men Abduct Haiti Defense Ministry Official in Port-au-Prince

Armed men abducted James Boyard, cabinet director of Haiti’s Defense Ministry and inspector general of the country’s police, on Thursday in the Bourdon neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. Boyard, a political scientist, was tasked with helping rebuild Haiti’s armed forces and had helped assess the National Police for reforms.

Local media reported the abduction occurred in Bourdon, one of the few areas of the capital considered relatively safe.

A person with knowledge of the situation who was not authorized to speak publicly confirmed the kidnapping to the Associated Press on Saturday. Boyard is the highest-ranking official to be kidnapped in Haiti in recent years. It remains unclear who carried out the kidnapping or whether a ransom has been requested.

Gangs have been kidnapping people with double nationalities and targeting public officials, according to Da Rin. An estimated 70 percent of Port-au-Prince is controlled by the gang coalition Viv Ansanm, which the United States designated a foreign terrorist organization in May 2025.

Kidnappings are increasingly occurring in areas of the capital once considered safe, with gang members sometimes donning police uniforms and stopping drivers as part of fake operations.

At least 267 people were reported kidnapped from December 2025 to February 2026, most of them men, according to a United Nations report. In 2025, 1,268 kidnappings were reported in Haiti, a nearly 40 percent drop from the 2,058 cases recorded the previous year. Da Rin said gangs have taken some kidnapping victims to Village de Dieu.