Special Edition: The Kidnapped YouTuber

The truth about Addison Pierre Maalouf's kidnapping.

Author

Kristin Kennihan
April 12, 2024

The Influencer Newsletter: Special Edition

The Kidnapping of Addison Pierre Maalouf, AKA YourFellowArab

Happy Friday! Welcome to a special edition of our newsletter where we’ll provide you with all the details about the kidnapping of popular YouTuber Addison Pierre Maalouf, AKA YourFellowArab.

Let’s get straight to the details.

Where it all began:

March 13th: After surviving a pretty serious car accident at the hands of his intoxicated taxi driver, Maalouf made his way to the Haitian border from the Dominican Republic.

The motive for Maalouf’s visit was to interview a famous gang leader, Jimmy “Barbecue” Ché, who has recently created an alliance between Haitian gangs and released over four thousand inmates into Port Au Prince, Haiti. Barbecue was looking forward to speaking with Maalouf, and granted him safe passage to visit him in Port Au Prince.

At the time of his travels, crossing the border was not allowed.

A Haitian journalist named Jean Sacra Sean Roubens agreed to accompany him as his guide.

When reaching the border, the Haitian police refused to let Maalouf in and demanded he turn around. Maalouf dropped off his luggage with someone who knew his guide and illegally crossed the border into Haiti by foot.

Once he reached his guide, he stayed in Cap-Haitien, Haiti for a night before driving to the gang capital Port Au Prince. They rented a car the next morning and started on their way.

Hours into their drive, they were stopped by eight armed gang members telling them to turn off the car and get out. They were being kidnapped.

Day 1: They were brought to a cement trailer surrounded by barbed wire fences and vicious dogs. They waited for 3 ½ hours until the gang leader, who is proudly one of the FBI’s most wanted, walked in. His name is Lanmò Sanjou, and he’s the leader of 400 Mawozo. Maalouf tried to talk his way out, but Sanjou was set on receiving a ransom payment before letting him go.

The gang wanted to get in touch with Maalouf’s parents for money, but Maalouf refused because “it would give his mom a heart attack”. They contacted his brother instead.

Day 2: The kidnappers don’t speak fluent English, but demanded $600,000 for the safety and return of Maaloouf. His brother insisted he could only scrounge up no more than 10k but kept buying time saying “If you give me a couple more days I’ll get more.”

Note: Historically and statistically speaking, there is usually a low risk of death for Americans in these situations. They are used for money and are more of a transaction. Jean, the Haitian guide, was more at risk of harm.

Day 3: Lanmò Sanjou, also known as “the King”, arrived early in the morning and woke both captives up. He seemed to like Maalouf, he joked with him

and gave him lots of food, cigarettes, and clothes.

400 people were grouped up outside of Maaloouf and Jean’s cell. They were sure they were about to be killed. Instead, they partied. The locals danced with them until they were led back to their cell.

Day 4: Maalouf’s brother started working with the FBI to get Maalouf to safety. He was shown a horrific video of beheadings that the gang was in charge of.

Day 7: Maalouf and Jean used their phones when guards weren’t looking to communicate with family and take videos. Maalouf’s brother gave up negotiating and handed it off to his dad. It was crucial to keep this story out of the news so 400 Mawozo didn’t understand who Maalouf was and how much money he had.

Day 8: In an attempt to find more help, Maalouf’s dad shared what was going on with some friends. The story was immediately leaked on X.

Day 9: Maalouf’s dad agreed to pay 38k to release him. The gang agreed and told Maalouf once the money hit they would be released.

Day 10: The money was transferred, and the gang told him to get ready to leave. The whole day passed and nothing happened.

Day 11: 400 Mawozo claimed not to receive the money even though it was sent. Maalouf asked to see the texts of the guard, and since they had become friendly, he let him. Maalouf sent the texts to his dad who translated them. They confirmed that the money had been received, but they were attempting to get more.

Gang leader, Jimmy “Barbecue” Ché.

Day 15: The story breaks in Haiti. Everyone is talking about it, but Haitians believe that the other gang leader, Barbecue, is to blame.

The King, Sanjou, walked into the cell, loaded his gun, and demanded Maalouf and Jean give them their phones. Maalouf quickly deleted the pictures he had taken and gave them to him.

Day 16: Maalouf’s dad’s friend who lives in Haiti starts communicating with a gang member in the same compound as Maalouf and Jean. He reveals that Barbecue called Lanmò Sanjou and demanded to let him go. He didn’t want to be blamed for the kidnapping and would go to war over it.

Day 17: They were again told that they would be let out.

Day 18: They were removed from their cells and put in new, fancier, clothes. The king insisted on taking a video with them, and on video, stated that they were never kidnapped and just visiting. They said they were being treated like kings, and there was no harm done. Twenty armed men stood behind the camera as they said this.

They were loaded into a car and drove for hours. Once they got to a safe location they were given back their car. They drove Jean home and Maalouf to the airport in the car they had rented.

Jean set up a deal with the car rental company to return it at the airport.

Day 19: Once Maalouf arrived at the airport, the car rental guys started yelling at him. They demanded more money for the car, and Maalouf agreed to pay them however much they wanted. Each time he accepted a price they raised it.

They were extorting him. The police took Maalouf to jail for not paying.

While in the waiting area Maalouf, angry and upset, tweeted that he hated Haiti and would never come back to the country. A judge his brother hired who was trying to help him saw the tweet and no longer felt inclined to help.

His brother took over his X account, deleted the post, and tweeted that he was just frustrated and didn’t mean it

Day 20: The judge witnessed a verbal handshake between the car guy and Maalouf who agreed on a price. He stated that if the car guy didn’t show up the next morning, Maalouf would be free to go.

Day 21: He didn’t show up. Maalouf was freed.

Day 22: Maalouf left Haiti and returned to the States, the FBI immediately took all of his phones.

Although Maalouf is safe, he’s been met with a lot of skepticism. Many followers of the story are claiming clickbait. Although he and his brother compared notes in a video linked below, his brother owns a company called Bad Marketing. Do we think that’s a coincidence? This story caused a lot of buzz and publicity for Maalouf which will no doubt help his career.

Even if the story is true, illegally crossing a country’s border to interview a gang leader doesn’t lead to a lot of sympathy.

After hearing all the facts, do you think he’s telling the truth?

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