The United States military evacuates embassy personnel from Port-au-Prince as the gang violence in Haiti intensifies.
Overnight on Saturday, the U.S. military performed an operation to evacuate American personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Haiti via airlift due to increasing violence in Port-au-Prince and throughout the Caribbean nation. On Sunday, U.S. Southern Command released a statement regarding this action, stating that additional security was also used during the operation.
The U.S. military carried out a mission to enhance security at the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince at the behest of the Department of State. This move allowed for our Embassy’s mission to continue and permitted non-essential personnel to leave, as stated by the U.S. Southern Command in a statement to CBS News on Sunday morning.
The military stated that airlifting U.S. personnel to and from the embassy is a normal security measure for embassies globally. The military also confirmed that no Haitians were present during the airlifts.
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The turbulent political instability and overwhelming gang activity have plagued the country for many years. In September of last year, the Biden government promised $100 million, followed by an additional $65 million, to assist the Haitian National Police and address the security challenges faced by the nation in its continuous battle against influential criminal organizations. Some of these funds were designated to support a collaborative security mission led by Kenya and involving various other countries. The United Nations Security Council unanimously voted in early October. COM of
to authorize the task of
The decision was made to deploy a multinational military group to Haiti for a period of one year in an effort to suppress the increasingly severe gang violence.
has shown worrysome tendencies
However, the recent surge in gang-related violence has highlighted concerning patterns.
In February’s final days, there was an eruption.
Prime Minister Ariel Henry of Haiti traveled to Kenya in order to advocate for the arrival of a multinational force. Dangerous gangs with large amounts of weapons have launched attacks on important government locations.
Tried to take over the airport.the escape of nearly 1,000 inmates
According to the Associated Press, there has been violence in Port-au-Prince that has caused businesses and schools to shut down. This has resulted in about 15,000 people being forced out of their homes in the capital city. Additionally, both of Haiti’s biggest prisons were attacked, resulting in the escape of approximately 1,000 prisoners. from prisons
Thousands of prisoners have escaped en masse from their respective prisons..
The explosion of gang violence prompted Haitian authorities to order a nighttime curfew and enact a state of emergency, which was still in place on Sunday.
Reporting was provided by Margaret Brennan.
Emily Mae Czachor
Source: cbsnews.com