The leader of the kidnap gang holding Irish aid worker Gena Heraty and her colleagues hostage in Haiti has made contact with the organisation she works for via intermediaries.
Two people representing the organisation have spoken to the gang leader and were awaiting further contact, The Irish Times has learned.
Ms Heraty, a missionary who is director of the Sainte-Hélène orphanage run by Nos Petits Frères et Soeurs (NPFS, Our Little Brothers and Sisters) in Kenscoff, was taken with seven others, including a three-year-old child, on Sunday, about 10km outside the capital, Port-au-Prince.
On Tuesday, Tánaiste Simon Harris raised Ms Heraty’s case with the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Kaja Kallas. Arising from the conversation, an EU diplomat in Haiti will be the point of contact in the case.
“This is an important development, ensuring that this case is firmly on the agenda of the European Union and our EU colleagues,” Mr Harris said.
“The kidnapping of Gena Heraty, her co-workers and a three-year-old child is utterly devastating. This is a particularly difficult time for the Heraty family.”
Mr Harris added he had been in constant contact with the Heraty family and would continue to provide them with supports. Furthermore, “different avenues at both political and diplomat level continue to be exhausted” in a bid to free the hostages.
The abduction has come during a period of deep crisis for Haiti, where law and order has collapsed and crime gangs, rather than the government, have control of vast parts of the country. It is believed the gang who led the kidnapping are associates – and come under the control and protection of – the Viv Ansanm group in the town of Kenscoff.
Viv Ansanm, which means Live Together, was one of two major crime syndicates in Haiti sanctioned by the United Nations last month, with the EU having since amended its Haiti sanctions list to include the two groups.
Viv Ansanm has also been sanctioned by the US department of the treasury’s office of foreign assets control (OFAC), the same US office that sanctioned the leaders of the Kinahan Irish drugs cartel in 2022.
A coalition of multiple gangs, Viv Ansanm is intent on taking control of Haiti, with the US declaring them a terrorist group and a threat to US national security.
Messages sent to Ms Heraty’s friends and colleagues by NPFS management confirmed direct contact with the kidnappers – who often demand ransoms in Haiti – but expressed concern that contact was limited and had not yet resulted in any breakthrough.
“We have only had two direct calls with the gang leader holding our people and while they were helpful to move things forward it’s only two calls,” the message said. “We are waiting for the third and preparing for it. Patience, understanding and prayers are needed and we appreciate yours.”
If Ms Heraty and her colleagues continue to be held for some time, the Irish Government has a range of intervention options, including the creation of an “emergency consular assistance team” (ECAT). These are teams comprised of experienced Irish diplomats and protected by Defence Forces personnel. They could be deployed to Haiti to co-ordinate local release efforts, as has previously been done to assist Irish citizens in Iraq, Sudan and Afghanistan.
Ms Heraty is from a well-known family in Westport, Co Mayo, and is one of 11 siblings. In a statement, the family described themselves as “absolutely devastated”. They said she had worked in the country since 1993 and was director of special needs programmes for NPFS, which supports children and young adults living with disabilities.
“The situation is evolving and deeply worrying. We are working closely with NPFS in Haiti and Ireland, the Irish Government, and international partners who are doing everything possible to ensure the safe and immediate release of Gena and her colleagues.”