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Days of distress, nights of anguish: the new reality for PLO’s family, two months after his abduction

Emmanuel Paul
Emmanuel Paul - Journalist/ Storyteller

A woman who goes to bed and wakes up without her husband. Children asking when they’ll see their father again. Daily phone calls to individuals made famous by the power of their weapons: this has been the new reality for Pierre-louis Opont’s family for over two months now.

Kidnapped on June 20, 2023, the former president of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) has very serious health problems which require him to take his medication religiously and see his family doctor regularly. Problems that are not serious enough to touch the hardened hearts of these ruthless bandits.

Despite payment of a ransom, the thugs refuse to release the Télépluriel co-owner, leaving his family in the greatest distress, like in a horror film whose end date is known only to the kidnappers and their acolytes.

Repeated appeals and protests by various employers’ associations have so far had no impact on the arms industry.

Several weeks ago, the government deployed all possible means and tactics to facilitate the release of the two American citizens kidnapped in Port-au-Prince last July, according to the State Department, which commended the diligence and determination of the Haitian authorities. A favor apparently too prestigious to grant to Pierre-Louis Opont, who has dedicated his entire professional life to serving his country.

Having also been the victim of a spectacular kidnapping at her home eight days before her husband’s, Radio Vision2000 and Télépluriel star journalist Marie Lucie Bonhomme no longer knows which saints to turn to, which door to knock on so that her husband can return home.

His older sister Justine Opont, also a victim of the kidnapping industry over two months ago, had also published several pre-recorded messages begging the kidnappers to show humanity towards her brother. A simple word, but apparently not part of the vocabulary of the kings of the jungle in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, who continue to terrorize the population under the passive and complicit gaze of government authorities.