If we needed a reminder of how bad things are right now in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, we learn that the US has sent in the Marines and evacuated part of the personnel by helicopter.
The gang rebels have attacked multiple locations in Tabarre, the area where the U.S. embassy is located.
Local Businesses were looted and overtaken by the armed men that control more than 80% of the capital.
Miami Herald reported:
“The U.S. military flew in Marines to reinforce its embassy in Haiti and evacuate non-essential personnel as heavily-armed gangs continue to challenge the country’s tenuous government and turn the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, into a battlefield.
The middle-of-the-night operation was conducted via helicopter by the U.S. military at the request of the State Department for embassy security, the U.S. Southern Command said in a statement.
‘This airlift of personnel into and out of the embassy is consistent with our standard practice for embassy security augmentation worldwide, and no Haitians were on board the military aircraft’, the statement said.”
The rebels demand the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
They have overtaken several police stations, attacked the port and the airport, the Presidential Palace and Ministries, and set 5K prisoners free in raids on two prisons.
Henry is under pressure by the United States and the Caribbean Community to resign and is unable to return.
Haiti extended a 72-hour state of emergency and curfew to a month.
While the U.S. embassy limited its operations, it remains open.
“‘The U.S. Embassy in Haiti remains open’, the statement reads. ‘Heightened gang violence in the neighborhood near U.S. embassy compounds and near the airport led to the State Department’s decision to arrange for the departure of additional embassy personnel. All arriving and departing passengers work for the U.S. government’.”
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