YouTuber and Twitch streamer YourFellowArab has allegedly been kidnapped in Haiti and is being held for a $600,000 ransom.
The content creator’s real name is Addison Pierre Maalouf, and he is known for traveling to foreign countries to interview dangerous individuals such as cartel leaders.
What happened?
His latest trip has involved him traveling to Port Au Prince in Haiti in an attempt to interview well-known gang leader Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Chervizier. Maalouf met with a fixer named Sean Roubens Jean Sacra in the Dominican Republic before the two of them traveled to Haiti together and were abducted.
Who are responsible?
The two men were apparently abducted by the 400 Mawozo gang, who have been responsible for a string of kidnappings of US and Canadian citizens in recent years. These kidnappings have prompted the US State Department to release an advisory, telling Americans that it is not safe to travel to Haiti.
How did we find out?
Maalouf’s brother, another Twitch streamer named Lalem, revealed on a livestream that they had been trying to keep news of his brother’s kidnapping quiet as they tried to resolve the situation, but a leak to the Haitian press meant he had no choice but to address things. Lalem says his brother was kidnapped two weeks ago and is apparently going to be held for 15 days.
Fellow ‘danger tourist’ Miles Routledge posted a thread on X where he shared that he had spoken to Maalouf via the kidnappers and that he was being kept in a cage on the eastern outskirts of Port Au Prince. He revealed that Sacra had been offered his release but chose to stay until Maalouf was also freed and that the US State Department was aware of the kidnapping but had been ‘very hands-off on helping’ to secure his release.
Routledge also said when he spoke to Maalouf, he told him he was ‘going to come out with a great video after this’ and that he should be out in no time.
It appears a Twitch streamer named Adin Ross attempted to pay the ransom, which has been criticized by Maalouf’s friend and fellow streamer Sneako for showing the gang that Maalouf has some notoriety, which may give them an incentive to up the ransom demand.
Maalouf’s editor, Masih, uploaded the last video sent to him by the creator, which shows him in his hotel discussing plans for the meeting with ‘Barbecue.’ Lalem has confirmed that this is the last known footage of Maalouf since he was kidnapped.
Maalouf’s followers started Tweeting #freearab to boost news of his kidnapping and reposted content from Lalem and Sneako discussing the kidnapping.
BREAKING NEWS UPDATE
Maalouf has just Tweeted that he has been freed. He is now claiming he was kidnapped for being a ‘Blanc’ and ‘purely for the color of my skin.’ He says he cannot give any more details until he is home and says he was kidnapped in the middle of the Haitian desert, ’60 minutes away from any civilization, in a concrete shack surrounded by barbed wire.
The leader of the 400 Mawozo gang also appears to have posted a video with Maalouf confirming his release.
