US EditionFamilies of 2 Journalists Kidnapped in Gang-Controlled Area of Haiti Plead for Details
Families and media leaders urge action and information amid fears that gang violence in Haiti’s capital, where 90% is gang-controlled, threatens journalists' safety.
- On Monday, families of two Haitian journalists kidnapped Friday in downtown Port-au-Prince pleaded for information about their whereabouts. Junior of Radio Television Megastar and Osnel Esp of Radio Uni were taken while reporting in the gang-controlled area.
- Gangs control an estimated 90% of Haiti's capital, where the powerful coalition Viv Ansanm operates. The United States has designated this coalition as a foreign terrorist organization, creating dangerous conditions for journalists reporting there.
- Rosemanie Erneste, wife of Osnel Esp, told reporters she has not heard from him since Friday. "I am asking, if he is dead, don't hide it from me," she said, and began to cry while calling on the government to act.
- Jocelyn Perez, executive director of Radio Uni, joined the families Monday requesting information. Perez stated, "Journalists are not actors in the conflict, but messengers serving the population," while calling for international human rights organizations to assist.
- At least nine journalists were killed in 2022, marking the deadliest year for the profession in Haiti's recent history. The kidnappings underscore escalating dangers facing reporters as gangs tighten control over the capital.
19 Articles
19 Articles
Families of kidnapped Haitian journalists demand proof of life, their release
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Families and employers of two kidnapped Haitian journalists are pleading for their release and demanding proof of life, four days after the men were abducted while reporting in downtown Port-au-Prince. Osnel Espérance of Radio Uni FM and Junior Célestin of Radio Télé Megastar were kidnapped March 13 near the national soccer stadium, Stade Sylvio Cator in downtown Port-au-Prince, where they had gone to cover clashes between polic…
Two Haitian journalists abducted amid intensifying violence in Port-au-Prince
Miami, March 17, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Haitian authorities to find and ensure the safe return of Haitian journalists Osnel Espérance and Junior Célestin, who were abducted Friday while reporting in the capital city Port-au-Prince, according to Haitian media outlets Le Nouvelliste and VantBef Info. Espérance and Célestin, who work respectively for Uni FM and Megastar, two independent radio stations, were on an assignmen…
The Association of Haitian Journalists and Local Media Directors demanded an immediate investigation from the authorities to locate Junior Célestin and Osnel Espérance.
The Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) on Tuesday demanded the "immediate and alive" release of two journalists kidnapped by the gangs in Haiti, where it warned of a "scaling of violence" in the midst of the political, economic and security "severe crisis" of the Caribbean nation.The entry The IAPA demands the "immediate and alive" release of two journalists kidnapped in Haiti was first published in the Digital Process.
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