Mass Prison Break in Haiti: 329 Prisoners Escape, Including Notorious Kidnapper

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Following the attack on a Croix-des-Bouquets prison located on the outskirts of the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince, 329 inmates managed to escape, prompting a nationwide search operation by local law enforcement, according to AFP. Local eyewitnesses described how first they heard gunfire coming from the prison, and shortly after saw hundreds of people fleeing from the correctional facility in every direction.


During a press conference on Monday, Haiti National Police Chief Godson Orleus said that the government has already requested aid from Interpol as well as from the neighboring countries of Dominican Republic and Jamaica because some of the escaped convicts may have fled abroad. At least two guards sustained gunshot wounds during the attack.


Police spokesman Gary Desrosiers said that 10 prisoners had already been recaptured. He also added that the attackers’ goal was apparently to liberate Clifford Brandt, a notorious businessman who was convicted in 2012 of kidnapping two children.
The Haitian government offered a $20,000 reward for information that would help apprehend Brandt.
The Croix-des-Bouquets prison was constructed in 2012 as part of an effort to reconstruct the Haitian infrastructure that was badly damaged during the 2010 earthquake, with Canada providing a significant amount of funding.