In Haiti, gangs killed Missouri politician Ben Baker’s daughter Natalie and son-in-law.
Ben Baker, a Republican politician from the US, discovered today that his missionary daughter had been killed in Haiti.
She and her husband, Davy, are thought to have died together.
Baker declared that his daughter Natalie and her partner Davy were living in Haiti as full-time missionaries.
“My heart is broken in a thousand pieces,” the Missouri lawmaker wrote on Facebook. That much pain has never happened to me before.
People in my community know that my daughter Davy and her husband Natalie Lloyd are full-time missionaries in Haiti.
“They were killed this evening when gangs attacked them.” The two of them went to Heaven together.
“Pray for my family; we need strength so badly.” Don’t forget to pray for the Lloyd family too. There are no more words for me to say at this time.
A lot of people posted about their sadness and condolences on social media.
A person wrote, “Oh Ben, my heart hurts for all of you.” Words don’t exist.
“I will keep praying for all of you.” Many kisses to all of you.”
“We are crying out your family’s name in prayer tonight,” a friend said.
Another person said, “We are so very sorry.”
JOINING A GANG
Since 2020, Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, has been the scene of a brutal gang war between major criminal groups and the people who work with them.
The Haitian government and security forces have had a hard time keeping the city under control. By last year, more than 200 gangs were said to be in charge of up to 90% of the city.
Each day, people there fight to stay alive.
Gang members fought to get acting prime minister Ariel Henry to step down in March, which led to violence all over the capital.
Two prisons were broken into by gangs, freeing thousands of people, including Ti Greg, the leader of the Delmas 95 gang. This started a new era of violence that brought Haiti to the edge of collapse.
As rival warring groups worked together to launch coordinated attacks, thousands of people were killed and many were raped, burned, or kidnapped.
As the bodies piled up in the streets, the US military flew embassy staff out of the country and rushed to make the embassy safer.
A lot of people from diplomatic missions left the capital, including US workers and the German ambassador.
The government of Haiti declared a state of emergency and put in place a curfew. Henry, who was acting prime minister, agreed to step down once a transitional government was set up.
When Haiti’s transition council took over in April, Henry’s resignation became official, and the country started to try to get back to a safe state.
But the notorious warlord Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier is still feared today.
People say that Barbecue, a murderous former top cop, got his name by setting his victims on fire.
He is the leader of G9, the most dangerous group of gangs in the capital, and has been terrorizing the poorest parts of the city for a long time.