The State Department deployed U.S. Marines to Haiti on Sunday to reinforce our nation’s embassy and airlift non-essential personnel out of Port-au-Prince as heavily armed gangs — thousands of which escaped the nation’s two largest prisons — continue their savage quest to seize control of the government.
“The middle-of-the-night operation was conducted via helicopter by the U.S. military at the request of the State Department,” Stars and Stripes reports.
“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 U.S. Southern Command said in a statement.
According to the Economic Times, “The operation was the latest sign of Haiti’s troubles as gang violence threatens to bring down the government and has led thousands to flee their homes.”
Horrifying images of chaos in the Caribbean nation have flooded social media, as gun-toting gang members laid siege to the Toussaint Louverture International Airport on Monday and attacked the police academy, where, according to CBS News, “more than 800 cadets are training.”
❗ – #BREAKING: Haiti reports heavy gunfire near the main international airport in the capital, Port-au-Prince, as heavily armed gangs, estimated to control up to 80% of the Caribbean country’s capital, attempt to take control of the airport. pic.twitter.com/b2kZIQqX7S
— The Informant (@theinformant_x) March 4, 2024
That attack was repelled on Tuesday after reinforcements arrived.
Last week, following a shocking attack on the National Penitentiary, “All but 98 of the 3,798 inmates being held at the penitentiary escaped, according to the Office of Citizen Protection,” CBS News reported. A similar prison break at the Croix-des-Bouquets prison, freed 1,033 inmates, including 298 convicts.
With his nation on fire, Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry bolted for Puerto Rico after jetting to Nairobi in an attempt to secure a deal “for the long-delayed U.N.-backed mission,” the Economic Times reports. Henry was in Kenya when a state of emergency was declared in Haiti last Sunday.
It’s “absolute anarchy,” according to podcaster Bruce Snyder.
BREAKING: Absolute anarchy: Haiti on brink of total collapse amid mass prison breaks. Gangs have taken control, torching police stations, assaulting airports and setting the Interior Ministry on fire. The Prime Minister has fled the country. pic.twitter.com/d1CUbeK4PW
— Bruce Snyder (@realBruceSnyder) March 9, 2024
According to Stars and Stripes, the U.S. airlift comes “amid ongoing gang attacks in multiple locations around metropolitan Port-au-Prince, including Tabarre, where the U.S. embassy is located. Several nearby businesses have been looted and overtaken by armed gangs that today control more than 80% of the capital.”
“In response to the attacks, Haiti recently extended a 72-hour state of emergency and curfew to a month, and deployed members of its fledgling army to assist the Haiti National Police,” the outlet reports. “To help in the fight against gangs, the U.S. government recently provided the police with additional ammunition.”
Republicans, naturally, are being blamed for “refusing to release a hold on funding, requested by the Biden administration.”
Stars and Stripes explains:
In October, the United Nations approved a Multinational Security Support [MSS] mission for Haiti. Henry was in Nairobi signing a security sharing agreement with the East African nation when the violence escalated. Despite the agreement, the force’s deployment has been hobbled by a lack of funding. Republican lawmakers in the U.S. Congress are refusing to release a hold on funding, requested by the Biden administration, amid questions about the mission while the international community has been slow to contribute to a U.N. Trust Fund set up to finance the operation.
Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Brian Nichols told the Miami Herald that the administration remains committed to expediting the deployment of the Kenyan-led mission to Haiti, and is closely monitoring the situation.
“It’s urgent,” Nichols said of the funding needs. “Every day matters, every day the lives and welfare of ordinary Haitians. If you care about humanitarian issues around the world, there is no crisis that is worse than the situation in Haiti right now.”
U.S. support for the MSS remains “robust,” U.S. Southern Command said.
“As announced in September 2023,” the Command stated, “the Department of Defense is postured to provide robust enabling support for the MSS, including planning assistance, information sharing, airlift, communications, and medical support.”
We’re about to lose another embassy on Biden’s watch.
Haiti is in total crisis.
They’re now evacuating the US Embassy.
Is this all we do under Biden?
Rinse and repeat. pic.twitter.com/fhQAIm9Tkx
— Joey Mannarino (@JoeyMannarinoUS) March 10, 2024
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Melissa Fine is the former executive editor of Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and Poker
Digest magazines. She is a UCLA graduate, news junkie, and dedicated Stargate SG-
1 fan. Melissa currently lives with her dog and two cats in a tiny town in the Sierra
Nevada foothills.
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