James Boyard, a high-ranking cabinet director and security expert, has been abducted in Haiti, marking a significant escalation in gang-related violence.

Armed men in Haiti have kidnapped James Boyard, cabinet director of the Defence Ministry and a highly respected security expert who also serves as inspector general of Haiti’s police, a person with the knowledge of the situation said on Saturday. He is the highest-ranking official to be kidnapped in the gang-wracked Caribbean country in recent years. A person with knowledge of the situation who was not authorised to speak publicly about the case confirmed the kidnapping to Associated Press on...