Topline Twitch streamer Lalem tweeted Thursday his brother and fellow content creator Addison Pierre Maalouf, also known as YourFellowArab on YouTube, was kidnapped in Haiti while planning to film a video in the country, which the U.S. Department of State has advised Americans not to visit. 80% of Port-au-Prince is under gang control, according to the U.N. (Photo by Guerinault ... [+] Louis/Anadolu via Getty Images) Key Facts A State Department spokesperson told Forbes it is “aware of reports of the kidnapping of a U.S. citizen in Haiti” but did not provide further information in its statement or name Maalouf directly. Lalem said in a tweet he tried to keep Maalouf’s kidnapping private for two weeks before word got out about the incident, later reposting what is allegedly Maalouf’s last video before he was kidnapped in which the YouTuber can be seen on a hotel balcony explaining his plan to travel to the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, where thousands of people have fled amid intense gang violence. Maalouf’s video , which was posted by his video editor, appeared to be taken at Satama Hotel in Cap-Haitien, a city nearly six hours away from Port-au-Prince, which is noted by Maalouf in the video. Miles Routledge, also known as travel YouTuber Lord Miles, said in a string of tweets Maalouf and Sean Roubens Jean Sacra, an associate who would help Maalouf reach the capital, were kidnapped and held on a ransom by a Haitian gang after Maalouf attempted to interview a gang leader. Routledge tweeted Maalouf’s location is known and that the YouTuber is confident he will be released from captivity, adding the State Department is “very hands off on helping, even though [Maalouf] is a US citizen.” Routledge noted in his posts that many travel YouTubers knew of the situation before it was leaked to a Haitian news outlet and that he and other people have volunteered to assist in an exchange for Maalouf and Sacra. Lalem and Routledge didn’t immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment. Big Number 80%. That’s the share of Port-au-Prince that the G9 family and its allies, a gang alliance led by a former
police officer, reportedly control. The former officer, Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier, claimed responsibility for a massive jailbreak that freed nearly 4,000 from Haiti’s largest prisons in March. Cherizier has been sanctioned by the U.S., U.K. and U.N. for his role in a 2018 attack on a Port-au-Prince neighborhood that left 71 people dead, hundreds of buildings destroyed and at least seven
Women sexually assaulted, according to the U.N . Key Background Maalouf has produced a wide range of content on his
YouTube channel, from Fortnite gameplay and vlogs to, most recently, videos of him traveling to foreign places and interviewing dangerous people such as cartel members. Maalouf has amassed 1.4 million subscribers on the platform and 622,000 followers on Twitch. The content creator is reportedly one of several Americans who have found themselves in difficult situations in Haiti in recent months. The State Department issued a travel advisory last year urging Americans to not travel to Haiti, citing widespread kidnappings, crime, civil unrest and poor health care infrastructure. In Port-au-Prince, more than 33,000 people have fled from gang violence this month, according to the Associated Press , which cited data from the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration. The State Department pulled more than 130 U.S. citizens out of Port-au-Prince last week and is currently arranging departures for Americans from the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince to the neighboring Dominican Republic and Cap-Haitien, where Maalouf’s appeared to be staying, via helicopter. Further Reading As gangs rampage through Haiti’s capital, more than 33,000 people have fled in 13 days, report finds (AP) Who Are The G9 Family? Armed Gang Alliance Led By Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Chérizier Terrorizes Haiti After Jailbreak (Forbes)