Armed men in Haiti’s capital seize a top security official in rare high-level abduction

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Armed men in Haiti have kidnapped James Boyard, cabinet director of the Defense Ministry and a highly respected security expert who also serves as inspector general of Haiti’s police, a person with the knowledge of the situation said Saturday.

He is the highest-ranking official to be kidnapped in the gang-wracked Caribbean country in recent years.

A person with knowledge of the situation who was not authorized to speak publicly about the case confirmed the kidnapping to The Associated Press on Saturday.

Local media reported that Boyard was seized Thursday in Bourdon, one of the few areas in Port-au-Prince that is considered relatively safe. An estimated 70% of the capital is controlled by a powerful gang coalition known as Viv Ansanm, which the U.S. designated as a foreign terrorist organization in May last year.

Boyard, who is also a political scientist, was tasked with helping rebuild Haiti’s armed forces and has helped assess Haiti’s National Police to implement reforms.

It was not clear who kidnapped him or whether a ransom has been requested.

“A person of this rank clearly has a fairly important security detail,” said Diego Da Rin, an analyst with the International Crisis Group.

He said the abduction of Boyard possibly suggests the kidnapping was planned with great detail and might have depended on the collaboration of someone close to his security detail.

Da Rin said kidnappings are increasingly occurring in areas of Port-au-Prince once considered safe, with gang members sometimes donning police uniforms and stopping drivers as part of fake operations.

He noted that gangs have been kidnapping people with double nationalities and targeting public officials. That could mean they are seeking higher ransoms and possibly trying to dissuade authorities from attacking certain gang-controlled territories where kidnapping victims are being held, Da Rin said.

Police recently have attacked Village de Dieu, which is controlled by the 5 Segond gang, led by Johnson Andre. Best known as “Izo,” he is considered one of Haiti’s most powerful gang leaders.

Da Rin noted that gangs have been taking some kidnapping victims to Village de Dieu.

High-profile kidnappings in recent years have targeted people including Haitian journalists and international missionaries. At least 267 people were reported kidnapped from December 2025 to February 2026, most of them men, according to a U.N. report. In 2025, 1,268 kidnappings were reported, a nearly 40% drop from the 2,058 kidnapping reported the previous year, the report stated.