U.S. flying Americans out of troubled Haiti capital

U.S.-chartered helicopters on Wednesday began flying Americans out of the besieged Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, a State Department spokesman said, as the city continues to be controlled by criminal gangs.

Fifteen Americans were flown by helicopter to Santo Domingo in the neighboring Dominican Republic, the department said.

Nearly 1,600 U.S. citizens have registered with the State Department seeking further information about leaving Haiti, officials said Wednesday.

The State Department estimates it will be able to remove about 30 Americans by helicopter each day the flights are chartered, a spokesperson said.

“The violence on the ground and Port-au-Prince has been dire,” State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said at a briefing Wednesday.

“The security situation is certainly one of high risk, but I will also just say that we would not conduct such an operation if we did not feel that it was safe to do so, and that we did not have the expertise to conduct something like this,” he said.

A U.S. government-chartered plane on Sunday evacuated 30 Americans from Haiti, and it landed in Miami, the State Department has said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday that a state government-chartered plane carrying passengers left Haitian airspace bound for Orlando Sanford International Airport in Florida. He said there would likely be other flights to get Florida residents who are in harm’s way out of the country.

Since 2020, the department has issued “do not travel” warnings about Haiti, warning Americans not to go there because of kidnapping, crime and unrest.

Haiti has been wracked by violence and unrest, and the capital city has been overtaken by gangs. Last week Prime Minister Ariel Henry  agreed to resign, something that had been demanded by the notorious “G9 and Family” gang leader known by the nickname “Barbecue.”

The agreement for Henry to resign includes a transitional council with the aim of free and fair elections, officials said.

A multinational security support mission will also be deployed to help the country, the State Department has said. The United Nations Security Council in October authorized such a mission.

Gunmen attacked the Haiti’s main international airport on Feb. 29 and gangs control large parts of Port-au-Prince, plunging the country into chaos and adding to unrest.