US soldiers were deployed in Port-au-Prince overnight Saturday to reinforce the security of the US Embassy in Haiti and evacuate non-essential personnelat a time when armed gangs have turned the streets into a battlefield.
The objective of the operation was to strengthen the security of the embassy to ensure that it continues to function, as explained in a statement by the Southern Command of the United States Armed Forces, responsible for operations in Latin America.
In addition, the operation sought to ensure the departure of non-essential personnel from the country.
The mission was carried out with a military aircraft, of which no details were offered, except that there were no Haitians on board and only personnel working for the US Government were transported.
Biden orders eviction
“This airlift of personnel in and out of the embassy is consistent with our standard practice to strengthen the security of embassies around the world,” said the US Southern Command.
A spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, in charge of foreign policy, informed EFE that the president of the United States, Joe Biden, personally gave the green light to the mission.
«President Biden approved the operation. He has been informed, receives updates from his team and is deeply concerned about the situation in Haiti »said the spokesperson.
The American operation took place while Attacks by armed gangs continue in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, including Tabarre, where the United States embassy is located.
The violence has led the United States embassy in Haiti to reduce its operations, although in a message on the social network X published this Sunday it made it clear that it “remains open.”
Gangs enter prisons
Violence in Port-au-Prince has increased significantly since on February 28 it became known that the Prime Minister of Haiti, Ariel Henry, had committed to holding elections before the end of August 2025, a very distant date if one takes into account that the prime minister had to conclude his mandate on last February 7according to a 2022 agreement
As part of this violence, a week ago, the gangs entered the two main penitentiary centers in the capital, allowing more than 3,000 prisoners to escape.
Henry, the country’s highest authority after the assassination in 2021 of President Jovenel Moise, is now the subject of pressure inside and outside Haiti to favor a transition that helps stop the acute crisis and extreme violence in the island nation.
However, Henry is in Puerto Ricoafter attending the Caribbean Community (Caricom) summit in Guyana and traveling to Kenya to address the multinational mission that will be deployed in Haiti.
In fact, Haiti is awaiting the deployment of that multinational security support mission led by Kenya, approved by the UN Security Council last October. EFE
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