Hostage Taking

Description of event

Since the beginning of recorded history, people have been abducted or held against their will for a variety of reasons. In ancient times, hostages, usually of noble birth, were exchanged to ensure compliance with treaty obligations. Hostage situations in early-American history helped shape both foreign and domestic policy. The plight of American sailors held hostage by Barbar North African states resulted in the Barbary Wars (1801-1805, 1815) and the birth of a permanent U.S. naval force. In 1859 the abolitionist, John Brown, and his followers took 12 hostages in a raid on the Federal Amory at Harper’s Ferry. After failed negotiations, federal forces decided to attempt a rescue assault. Colonel Robert E. Lee ordered the Marines in the assault party to unload their rifles and affix bayonets, to lessen the chances of harm to the hostages. Not only were the hostages safely rescued and John Brown captured, but also Lee established the guiding principle for every future on-scene-commander, namely, choose the course of action that is most likely to save the greatest number of lives. Brown’s execution barely 2 months later made him a martyr for the antislavery movement, helping foment the American Civil War. From the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis to the 2002 Dubrovka Theater Crisis to the 2004 Beslan School Crisis, where over 1200 people were held hostage, kidnapping and hostage events continue to occur with increasing audacity.

Some kidnappings/hostage events are politically motivated; others involve simple greed. A few are just the result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. A Dutch human rights group estimates at least 25,000 people were kidnapped worldwide in 2006. Over 90% of those incidents took place in the top-10 riskiest areas ( Box 69-1 ). According to the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, in 2011 there were about 2500 kidnappings in Somalia alone. The hijacking of the American-crewed Maersk Alabama in 2009, the first United States ship in almost 200 years to be captured by pirates, catapulted modern day piracy into the world news headlines. The rise in kidnappings, hostage taking, and hijackings can be blamed on a combination of factors such as lawlessness, political unrest, and poverty. Kidnapping is an appealing crime for many because the perpetrators are rarely caught, and it is a much easier way to make money compared with drug dealing or robbery. The epidemic of kidnapping/hostage taking is much greater than demonstrated by statistics, because many kidnappings are handled privately and remain unreported.

Box 69-1

Highest-Risk Regions for Kidnapping

1.

Mexico
2.

Iraq
3.

India
4.

South Africa
5.

Brazil
6.

Pakistan
7.

Ecuador
8.

Venezuela
9.

Colombia
10.

Bangladesh

In about 67% of cases, a ransom is paid, and it usually averages about $2,000,000 in countries where the “business” is well established. If a ransom is not paid, chances of survival for the victim are slim, especially in Latin America. According to insurance industry sources, Americans with kidnapping and ransom insurance are 4 times more likely to survive a kidnapping than are those who have none.

Pre-incident actions

Terrorists typically utilize one of three types of hostage scenarios: barricade hostage attacks, kidnapping, or air/land/sea hijackings. In a kidnapping, the location of the hostage(s) is generally not known, strengthening the perpetrator’s negotiating position, while avoiding immediate confrontation with a rescue force. A barricade situation, where the location of the hostage(s) and perpetrator(s) is known, provides some advantage to rescue personnel; assuming one of the goals of the hostage takers is to survive. Air/land/sea hijackings are essentially a combination of the two because the terrorists have a mobile platform.

Each year, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is involved in approximately 400 domestic kidnappings, with about one third involving a ransom demand. Branch bank managers and their families appear to be favorite targets. Some kidnapping/hostage taking occurs incidentally to the commission of another crime, with the victim being a target of opportunity for the perpetrator trying to negotiate his way out of a losing situation. Express kidnapping, where a victim is selected at random and held for hours or days and forced to withdraw money from financial accounts, is especially popular in the Third World and Latin America. Because of their relatively short duration, express kidnappings do not require the planning (preattack surveillance, communications for ransom demands, etc.) or infrastructure (such as safe houses or guards) dictated by a traditional kidnapping. These low-budget kidnappings are more dangerous because they are carried out by small-time criminals or inexperienced kidnappers. If something unexpected happens during the abduction, the perpetrators are likely to panic and kill or harm the victim.

With the growing threat of international terrorism and the increasing political value of American hostages, it is the official policy of the U.S. government not to make concessions to individuals or groups holding official or private U.S. citizens hostage. However, the United States will make use of every appropriate resource to ensure the release and safe return of American citizens. The goal is to deny the hostage takers the benefits of ransoms, prisoner releases, policy changes, or other acts of concession, which would increase the risk that other Americans would be taken hostage. The State Department will contact representatives of the captors in an effort to secure release.

Although very dangerous, hostage rescue is sometimes the only viable option. Local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies have specialized teams to rescue hostages or deal with standoff situations. These teams rely on training, speed, coordination, stealth, and overwhelming force to rescue hostages and take control of the situation. The FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) was established in 1983, and it has been deployed hundreds of times in support of hostage rescue, counterterrorism, stopping violent crime, and other federal law enforcement activities.

Post-incident actions

Risk mitigation strategies are critical for individuals and organizations engaged in high-threat activities such as humanitarian aid, disaster response, development work, or security operations.

Individuals

Individuals should undergo basic security and safety training prior to traveling to high-threat regions. This training should cover situational awareness, avoidance of high-risk activities, lodging and travel recommendations, immediate actions, survival strategies, etc. In particular, medical aid workers in conflict or disaster areas should beware of roadblocks. The people controlling the roadblock may desire to extort money or other items of worth. If a person is working with a relief agency, they should ensure proper identification is available, and that they travel in a clearly marked vehicle. Vehicles painted in military colors should be avoided. If a roadblock is encountered, the personnel manning it may be aggressive, undisciplined, untrained, and intoxicated. Travelers should not make any aggressive movements or statements. They should be firm but polite, stating that the authorities have given them permission to travel in the area. If a person is an aid worker, he or she should establish his or her affiliation quickly because it is one of the greatest assets a traveler has.

Survivors who have survived long hostage situations share similar advice. First, the hostage must maintain a positive attitude, a belief that he or she will return to freedom. The ordeal may be long, and seem impossible, but one must maintain faith. The hostage must acquire a sort of daily routine to keep the mind occupied, including a schedule for daily exercise, even if just stretching or moving limbs around. If previously religious, or a newly developed interest because of the situation, prayer may help. In Latin American and Muslim cultures, prayer times or even just the opportunity for prayer is viewed as an individual right that is respected. The hostage-taker may empathize with the hostage’s need for prayer, thus establishing rapport. An additional tool to build rapport is casual conversation. That is, when the initial shock of the capture has subsided, the hostage should consider inquiring about the captor’s name, his family, his likes and his beliefs.

Two excellent books that illustrate rapport-building in long-term captivities are Out of Captivity, by Marc Gonsalves et al., and News of a Kidnapping , by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The first book is a personal recollection of three Americans held captive in Colombia for more than 5 years. The second, by Garcia Marquez, tells the stories of 10 notable Colombians who were kidnapped by Pablo Escobar during the late 1980s.

The two most dangerous times during a hostage situation are at the beginning and at the end, especially if a rescue is attempted. Hostages should help their kidnappers to establish contact with their family or organization as soon as possible. Initially, persons in a hostage situation should make themselves as inconspicuous as possible. They should listen to commands and respond without questioning. “Passive cooperation” should be enacted. Sudden movements or threatening behavior should be avoided, as well as eye contact or any other actions that may single a person out. Hostages should try to remain calm and remember the vast majority of kidnappings end with the hostages released. Death is usually the result of a medical condition, an unsuccessful escape attempt, or perhaps a botched rescue.

Organizations

Risk mitigation is critical. Organizations that operate in high-threat environments should have robust, well-practiced, and well-trained standard operating procedures regarding kidnapping. A majority of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have security officers on payroll to accomplish this requirement. The security officer is responsible for permission planning, threat analysis, staff training, site assessments, establishment of contact with local law enforcement/military as needed, and daily operations. For U.S. citizens, organizations should register individuals with the Department of State Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP). In addition, the security officer should conduct safety assessments of lodging, common travel routes, and existing local political or criminal threats. Organizations should seriously investigate kidnapping and ransom (K&R) insurance for operations in semipermissive or high-threat areas. Registering staff with the relevant embassy and having immediate access to important contact information will help reduce the initial chaos that ensues after a kidnapping event.

Responding Agencies

The need for special law enforcement units grew out of the civil unrest in the United States in the 1960s. Tactical emergency medical services (TEMS) emerged as a special interest area within emergency medicine to provide medical services within a civilian law enforcement environment for both law enforcement personnel and suspects. Beyond increasing the chances of successful mission accomplishment, TEMS reduces the morbidity and mortality among innocent persons, suspects, and officers. Medical care in a tactical situation is frequently very different from the care provided by routine civilian emergency medical support (EMS). Richard Carmona and David Rasumoff conducted the first formal TEMS course in Los Angeles for law enforcement special operations units in Los Angeles in 1989. In the 1990s, Frank Butler, a former Navy SEAL and Command Surgeon at the U.S. Special Operations Command, spearheaded a medical research project to improve combat trauma outcomes by optimizing care in the prehospital tactical envrionment. This project gave birth to what is now called Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) in the military environment or Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC) in the law enforcement environment ( Table 69-1 ). The primary focus of TCCC/TECC is to quickly address the three most common causes of preventable death in a tactical situation: uncontrolled hemorrhage, airway compromise, and untreated tension pneumothorax. A recent article summarizing data from the FBI Uniform Crime Report Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted for the years 1998-2007 suggests that there may be a larger percentage of preventable deaths from untreated tension pneumothorax than from uncontrolled hemorrhage in the typical law enforcement environment.

Table 69-1

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