How do the U.S. and other countries manage hostage negotiation and ransom payments?

An armed gang, 400 Mawozo, kidnapped 17 members of an Ohio-based Christian missionary organization in Haiti on Saturday. Five of the hostages are children, including an 8-month-old. The group is seeking a ransom of $1 million per person for their safe release, the Haitian justice minister told The Washington Post on Tuesday.