AMERICAS

1. (MEXICO, 30/04/19) Policemen accused of kidnapping Colombians in Cancun

A federal judge processed a municipality police officer, accused in the kidnapping of four Colombians in December 2017, in the resort city of Cancun. According to investigations, Juan Castillo Cruz, along with other people arrested in April 2018 – three of them also municipal police – kidnapped the Colombians and handed them over to the Cancun cartel. The negotiation for the release of the Colombians was conducted by an alleged member of the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación. Reportedly, the victims’ relatives handed over the ransom payment of MXP 80,000 (USD 3,300) to the middleman, but he never delivered the money. Thus, the Cancun cartel killed the hostages. All the arrested were believed to be in the Cancun cartel’s payroll. FULL ARTICLE

AFRICA

2. (NIGERIA, 30/04/19) Gunmen kidnap expatriate, kill police escort in Akwa Ibom
An expatriated worker with a British civil engineering company handling the construction of roads in Uruan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State was kidnapped by unknown gunmen. Fad Hamoua was abducted on the morning of 30 April when he went to buy cement from a local cement shop within the community. His police escort died while trying to stop the kidnapping. Hamoua’s nationality has not been ascertained yet. FULL ARTICLE

3. (NIGERIA, 01/05/19) Kidnapped Shell workers rescued

Two Royal Dutch Shell oil workers who were kidnapped in the Niger Delta region last week have been reportedly rescued. In a statement, a spokesman for the Rivers State police said that a tactical team of the police rescued the victims in the early hours of 30 April. Without giving more details, Shell confirmed the release. FULL ARTICLE

4. (NIGERIA, 01/05/19) Indians among seafarers kidnapped in Nigeria

Last week, it was reported the hijacking of the Palau-flagged product tanker APECUS on 19 April. Six members of the vessel’s crew were kidnapped in the incident at Bonny Outer Anchorage. While the nationalities of the kidnapped crew had not been made public, on 1 May, Indian media reported that five of the men were Indian nationals. According to the said reports, the Indian government and “other concerned parties” have already made contact with the kidnappers. FULL ARTICLE (1)

5. (DRC, 02/05/19) Two doctors kidnapped by militants linked to the Islamic State

In the first attack attributed to militiamen of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in Congo’s Ituri Province, five people, including two doctors, were kidnapped and other six killed. The attack took place on 1 May, when a large number of ADF militants, believed to originate from North-Kivu province, invaded the locality of Irumu. During the attack, the militias raided the local hospital, from where they abducted the two doctors and three other people. It is not clear if the kidnapping has a financial motivation. The ADF were recently recognized by the Islamic State’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, as the caliphate’s new ‘province’ named ‘Wilayat Central Africa’, on 18 April 2019. FULL ARTICLE (1)