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The YouTuber is being held for a $600,000 ransom.
American YouTuber Addison Pierre Maalouf, popularly generally known as YourFellowArab or Arab, has allegedly been kidnapped in Haiti by one of many gangs that turn into its de facto rulers. In response to the New York Publish, the Georgia-based YouTuber had travelled to the violence-stricken nation to interview the nation’s most infamous gang chief, Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier. Nevertheless, simply 24 hours after he arrived in Haiti, Mr Maalouf and a Haitian colleague have been taken by members of the 400 Mawozo gang on March 14.
In response to The Publish, the YouTuber is being held for a $600,000 ransom, and although $40,000 has already been paid, the abductors are persevering with to demand a big sum of cash to safe Mr Maalouf’s launch.
Mr Maalouf has over 1.4 million subscribers on YouTube. He’s well-known for exploring harmful locations which can be void of basic tourism.
Because the information of his disappearance unfold on-line, fellow streamer Lalem confirmed that his pal had been taken hostage. “Tried preserving it non-public for 2 weeks, but it surely’s getting out in all places now,” Lalem posted on X. “Sure Arab has been kidnapped in Haiti and we’re engaged on getting him out,” he added.
In a separate submit, Lalem additionally shared the final video Mr Maalouf posted on-line. The clip confirmed the YouTuber at a resort in Haiti. Within the video, he mentioned that he and his crew supposed to journey to the capital metropolis of Port-au-Prince, however needed to wait till the early morning hours so they might arrive within the daylight. He additionally famous that Port-au-Prince is “fully run by gangs” and although they’d secured secure passage, “all it takes is one silly gang member holding an AK-47 for one factor to go mistaken”.
That is the final video he recorded earlier than he acquired kidnapped, in case you have his quantity pls do not textual content him whereas he is in there for security causes. 🙏 https://t.co/JJ7y1uVjGA
— Lalem (@Lalem) March 29, 2024
On March 10, Mr Maalouf additionally posted that he was “occurring one other a kind of journeys”. “If I die, thanks for watching what I’ve put out. If I dwell, all glory to God,” he wrote on X.
By Friday, one other YouTuber, Miles “Lord Miles” Routledge, claimed that he spoke to the kidnapped streamer. In a sequence of tweets, Mr Routledge mentioned that Mr Maalouf was travelling with a fixer known as Sean Roubens Jean Sacra, who was additionally kidnapped. “Arab has been stored in a cage in a spot on the japanese outskirts of the Capital, Port-au-Prince,” he mentioned.
“Arab has said that regardless of the hardships, he will come out with an amazing video after this, and he ought to be out very quickly. Sean was truly provided to be let go, however he is an amazing man and does not need to go away Arab on his personal, so he has determined to remain,” Mr Routledge added.
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Mr Routledge additionally criticised the US authorities and the State Division for failing to safe Mr Maalouf’s launch. He mentioned they have been “very hands-off on serving to, although Arab is a US citizen.”
In the meantime, in an announcement to The Publish, The State Division confirmed that it’s “conscious of reviews of the kidnapping of a US citizen in Haiti” however wouldn’t present any particulars. “The US Division of State and our embassies and consulates overseas haven’t any increased precedence than the protection and safety of US residents abroad. “We reiterate our message to US residents: Don’t journey to Haiti,” a spokesperson mentioned.
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