Lawyer and ONAPE Director General Kidnapped With Two Police Officers in Artibonite

Attorney Caleb Jean-Baptiste and Stéphanie Paultre, Director General of Haiti's National Office for Partnership in Education (ONAPE), were kidnapped on the afternoon of Monday, September 7, 2026, in Ennery, Artibonite department, as Paultre was returning from back-to-school events marking the start of the 2026-2027 academic year. Two police officers assigned to Paultre's security detail were also abducted. The Kokorat San Ras armed group was reported responsible; captives were moved through Ennery, Mapou, Pérou, and Moulin before being held in Pendu, a section of Gros-Morne commune in the Nord-Ouest department bordering Artibonite — a route suggesting an established kidnapping corridor. Haiti's interim government had not issued an official statement on the abduction of Paultre, one of its own officials, as of September 8; the Haitian National Police said it was gathering information. A gang leader separately accused Jean-Baptiste of receiving payments tied to gang activity, an allegation that could not be independently verified.