triggering a rejection. ♪ these are the top stories. in brazil, a report into the covid response has pointed the finger of -- at the president. still these to be voted on by the senate committee. the document -- >> genocide was not removed. it was swapped for crimes against humanity. he will be indicted because of

the matters. what was removed was homicide. anchor: joe biden says he's concerned by chinese missile technology. an investigation by the financial times says tyner has tested a hypersonic weapon. beijing denied the report. the un security council has held an emergency meeting on north korea. it's the first underwater test launch in two years. the pentagon has confirmed no u.s. forces have been injured. it struck a base. the first time this military base has been targeted. two bombs exploded on an army

bus. it's the worst attack in the syrian capital in years. not long after troops held a town. the afghan taliban says it needs international ricky nation. representatives were speaking following a conference with regional powers. russia says the taliban would have to uphold a basic standard of human rights. the man accused of killing 17 people at a florida high school has pleaded guilty in court. nikolas cruz was expelled days before the shooting. those are the have on. -- the headlines. the news continues after inside story. ♪

host: a criminal gang in haiti has abducted 17 american and canadian missionaries. the case highlights the lawlessness and chaos. will this spur international action to help? this is inside story. looking to the program. $1 million for each hostage, that is the ransom demanded for the release of 16 americans and a canadian. the youngest hostage is just eight months old. it is the latest in an

increasingly violent wave of kidnappings and has drawn international attention to the instability. katie has lurched from crisis to crisis, natural disasters to lummis this in poverty. first, this report. reporter: protests. demonstrators chanted liberation as they marched on the street, calling for the release of christian missionaries. >> they kidnapped them. they build their schools. they do everything for us. reporter: the kidnappers are demanding $17 million.

the abduction is the largest of its kind in recent years. on tuesday, antony blinken told reporters washington is doing everything it can. >> we have been relentlessly focused on this, including sending a team to haiti, and constant communication with the haitian national police. as well as the haitian government. reporter: following the assassination of the president and a devastating earthquake, crimes like kidnappings, extortion and violent attacks have intensified. more than 600 abductions were reported in the first three quarters of this year. a joint effort continues.

issues like the worsening security situation, widespread fuel shortages, lack of clear government leadership and growing unrest are proving to be major obstacles against efforts to free those kidnapped. host: haiti has the world's highest number of kidnappings per person. abductions have searched 300% since july. there have been 628 kidnappings since january, compared with 231 last year. the gang is believed to be behind nearly 80% of the abductions. degroot kidnapped 10 people including members of the catholic church in april, and it is growing in strength area it now has nearly 150 members. let's bring in our guests. in washington, a commentator and executive director.

in doha, ambassador to haiti. and a senior research associate. a warm welcome to you all, thanks for being with us. there has been this huge surge in the number of kidnappings. why have kidnappings become so frequent? what are the factors? >> thank you for inviting me. i would like to start off by expressing sentiment to the families that are impacted.

this is the two-pronged issue. one is a security issue. in terms of security, bear in mind haiti has had an international militarized force on the auspice of united nations. for the most part, united nations supported the haitian government throughout the years. also, to prop up national police. the military presence ended 2017. it was supposed to be handed over to the haitian national police to take over and secure the entire nation.

one of the reasons why we had to have support for the international community is because our military arm was suspended in 1995. the police was left by itself to secure the entire nation. as the rubber hits the road, everybody realizes our national police needs additional resources, needs additional support, but also support from another entity. this is one issue. the other issue is the fact that there is a bigger issue. it's time we put haiti out of a box, the human veil syndrome box. take it out of that box. we need to have international

partners be more mindful of the need for investment in more capital refinements. because haiti cannot be reconstructed on good deeds only. we are very grateful to all of our partners in times of humanity, but in order for haiti to have sustainable, equitable, economic development, we need to have a mindset shift to help us. jobs. young men and women have dreams and want to be able to work find an alternative to criminal enterprises. host: let me ask you, how much territory exactly gangs control in haiti? what exactly do we know about

this gang that has abducted the missionaries. >> [indiscernible] all of these areas are controlled by gangs. people are very much afraid because they have dealers in different areas, monitoring them. i think we are facing a dynamic situation.

it's unfortunate citizens got caught under fire but understand that the haitian population kidnapping -- [indiscernible] everybody else's by the door waiting for them to come home. even when somebody is with the cell phone on the street, we begin -- i believe we are at a difficult moment after 70 years if u.n. occupation, it's time to haitian occupation -- population is given an opportunity, and at the same time, the u.s.

government has the possibility to stop the influx of guns. host: moments ago the ambassador was talking about how the concept of international aid needs to be rethought. you have written before about this, you have talked about how haiti has become an eight state. -- need state. they've continue to go on by getting money from the international community but is not help the situation. >> as the ambassador was talking about, the socioeconomic issue. looking at the root causes of insecurity. if the total absence of the state from huge parts of the country. the lack of opportunities that

exist. we have to talk about the role of the international community. this has been a pattern we have seen over many decades, traditional forms of assistance have undermined the ability of the state. i think that's usually important in explaining all this. but it also goes to the need for haitians to take destiny into their hands. choosing leaders and overthrowing leaders and not allowing a sovereign democratic process to take place which undermined the government. moving forward, those are hugely important things. not just an issue for haitians in haiti, but the role of the international community, specifically the united states. host: ambassador, there has been discussion over the course of the last couple of months about the possibility of perhaps

another peacekeeping mission returning to haiti. this is an idea that seems to be floated in diplomatic circles. is that something that will be acceptable to a government and people of haiti? >> for haitian people. we would really like to be able to have the support of the international community, which helps in terms of persuasive force. the power of persuasiveness is incredible. they do not have to be on every mission. but the mere fact they are there is important. as it has been for the entirety of our history. haiti was born to get

independence. i know the united nations mission has removed its mandate and within the mandate, there is language about supporting the haitian police to support in terms of governance. we are hoping some of those initiatives. host: how much worse, much more has it deteriorated since the president was assassinated? >> since the united nation came

in 2004 after the overthrowing of the president, 17 years, every time there is a session, there is always an increase in security issues. in terms of having forces coming to the ground, we do not need that. nothing has been done. as you can see, after 17 years, we do not have [indiscernible] our infrastructure has got worse. the human rights situation has

become deplorable. there was no need nine months. [indiscernible] to take destiny in their own hands. i think the united states was there to maintain control. we have disagreements about ourselves, but we could sit and come to a solution.

[indiscernible] 26 families ordering violent weapons to these groups. at the same time, the united nations need to stop the influx of guns coming from the united states. host: this is in the news right now. you've many americans and canadian.

haitians have to deal with this reality every day. >> of course. this is not an issue that is solely going to be resolved. we talk about the last number of decades, billions of dollars to train the national police. it is a bit insane to think more money going to the national police is going to solve this problem. you have to get to the roots of the problem which is these are not necessarily independent actors. our groups have political patrons, private-sector. going after these networks of support would be a far more effective way than funneling more resources into a police

institution which has been part of the problem. that is exactly the issue. we have a police force that's politicized, that model has failed. it's a it's clear the vast majority of weapons entering haiti are from the united states. control of the ports, when you look at what the international community can do, but the u.s. can do, enforce your own laws. where is this money going? what about the private-sector assets that are finally money and giving money to these gangs to carry out some of this activity? holding people accountable. host: jake johnson just alluded to this. the billions of dollars that have come in and aid. $13 billion of aid, why is this

the case and what can be done to turn things around? >> out of the $13 billion in pledges after the earthquake, a very small percentage was given to the haitian government. much needed humanitarian aid. we are not going to hash out exactly all of the mistakes that were done.

it was quite a bit of duplication and things that were not needed to be done. the government at a clear reconstruction plan. again, since we had an internal -- being able to control our borders so the inflow of illegal arms would be curtailed. i believe -- there is a pandora's box that was open. in terms of political decisions, criminal activities. open any period, they have been

trying for the last few years. all of this in the context of a political environment that has not been conducive for resolving -- ultimately led to the assassination of a sitting president and you have a police force that with all of its efforts is not able to fully take care of the problem. we need to invest, haitian government is telling donor this is what we need.

host: you are the ambassador talking about the political situation. let me ask you about the political environment. just how volatile does it remain , are the police completely powerless at this point? >> the situation is volatile. no one knows what is going to happen. people can lose their life and a second. people are in fear. everyone is looking over their shoulder. it is a new way of life for haitians not used to the situation. in terms of the police, we

understand the u.s. is providing training. approve. how can we be a sovereign nation when our own police cannot be selected. looking at the police, we do not have officers to provide security. [indiscernible] members of different cabinets. the government wants to do something constructive, they

need to reduce the number of police officers, [indiscernible] provide security to the haitians in terror on an everyday basis. we know there are a lot of [indiscernible] the government needs to get a handle and put an end to that. host: we have run out of time, you have to leave the conversation. thank you to all of our guests. thank you for watching. continue the program any time by visiting our website, and go to our facebook page. you can also join the conversation on twitter. for me and the whole team, bye for now. ♪

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