Dozens of US citizens evacuate Haiti on first State Department charter flight
Originally Published: 18 MAR 24 06:44 ET Updated: 18 MAR 24 08:53 ET By Colin McCullough, CNN
(CNN) — Dozens of US citizens have been evacuated from Haiti on a State Department charter flight as the country remains paralyzed by escalating gang violence and political instability that has left once bustling streets vacant and necessities like food and gas scarce.
The flight departed Sunday from Cap-Haitien on Haiti’s north coast and landed at Miami International Airport, the State Department said. More than 30 US citizens were onboard, and government officials are now “assisting with next steps,” a State Department spokesperson said.
The department will continue to help US citizens looking to leave Haiti as long as “commercial options remain unavailable, and the security environment permits us to do so,” the spokesperson said.
Cap-Haitien is more than 100 miles from Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, where the airport has been under siege by gangs amid fighting between the clans and police in the surrounding area.
“The security situation in Haiti is unpredictable and dangerous,” the State Department said in a statement Saturday announcing the flight and warning of danger along the land route from Port-au-Prince to Cap-Haitien.
“We recommend you consider the Cap-Haitien flight only if you believe you can reach Cap-Haitien airport safely,” the statement said. “We cannot provide overland travel from other parts of Haiti to Cap-Haitien.”
The crisis in Haiti intensified early this month as rival gangs began wreaking coordinated havoc, security sources said. The gangs have pushed for the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who said last week he would resign following the establishment of a transitional council, which has yet to be formed.
Gangs now control 80% of Port-au-Prince, according to UN estimates, and are severely limiting supplies of food, fuel and water across the city. Haiti’s National Police continue to fight, battling to reclaim ground block by block.
But police face limited resources and have been targets of the violence, with several police stations attacked or burned down in the past two weeks.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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