The United States announced on Sunday that it had evacuated part of the staff of its embassy in Port-au-Prince and reinforced the teams in charge of its security.
“The American Embassy in Haiti remains open. Increased gang violence in the neighborhood near the embassy and near the airport has led the State Department to decide to organize the departure of additional embassy personnel. All arriving and departing passengers work for the U.S. government”, said the embassy in a statement sent to our editorial office on Sunday.
U.S. military personnel landed in Port-au-Prince by helicopter on Saturday night, with the aim of reinforcing security at the U.S. Embassy in Haiti and evacuating non-essential personnel at a time when armed gangs have unleashed terror in the Haitian capital.
“The operation was conducted in the middle of the night by helicopter by the U.S. military at the request of the State Department in charge of embassy security, Doral-based U.S. Southern Command said in a statement, reported by the Miami Herald.
“This airlift of personnel in and out of the embassy is consistent with our standard practice of enhancing embassy security worldwide, and no Haitians were on board the military aircraft,” the statement said.
According to the Miami Herald, a National Security Council official said that President Joe Biden had personally ordered the military to carry out the mission. “He has been briefed, is receiving updates from his team and is deeply concerned about the situation in Haiti,” the official said.
U.S. President Joe Biden has ruled out sending U.S. troops to Haiti to help resolve the security crisis rocking the country.
Brian Nichols, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, told the Miami Herald that the administration remains committed to accelerating the deployment of the Kenyan-led mission and is closely monitoring the situation.
“It’s urgent,” he said of the mission’s funding needs. “Every day counts, every day counts the lives and well-being of ordinary Haitians. If you care about humanitarian issues around the world, there is no crisis worse than the current situation in Haiti,” Nichols warned.