The U.S. Embassy in Haiti has closed its doors and restricted all of its personnel to Embassy compounds after gunfire erupted near the building on Tuesday.
“The Embassy is closed today. All personnel are restricted to Embassy compounds until further notice due to gunfire in the vicinity of the Embassy. Travel between the compounds is prohibited,” a release from the embassy stated. Officials further warned that routes to the Embassy could be “impacted due to continued rapid gunfire.”
Since the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, gangs have taken over approximately 80% of Port-au-Prince, raining violence and terror down upon communities already struggling with poverty, CBS News reported.
On Monday, thousands of Haitian protestors took to the streets in Port-au-Prince demonstrating against the escalating violence from gangs in the city, Reuters reported. In addition to deadly violence, kidnappings of women and children have escalated in the country, with American nurse Alix Dorsainvil and her daughter being among the recent victims. (RELATED: Officials Seeking American Nurse, Daughter Kidnapped In Haiti)
“The stories we are hearing from UNICEF colleagues and partners on the ground are shocking and unacceptable,” UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean Garry Conille stated. “Women and children are not commodities. They are not bargaining chips. And they must never be exposed to such unimaginable violence. The growing trend in kidnappings and abductions is extremely worrisome, threatening both the people of Haiti and those who have come to help,” Conille continued.
One protestor, identified only as James, told Reuters the rise of gangs has devastated the country. “We can’t live like this anymore. The other neighborhoods are ‘gangsterized.’ People are abandoning their homes.”
UNICEF officials have stated the rise of violence and the “pervasive presence of armed groups” has severely impacted humanitarian efforts within the country where almost half the population — 5.2 million people, three million of which are children — require assistance.
The U.S. Embassy further urged any U.S. citizens still living in Haiti to make plans to depart the country, noting that the U.S. government is “extremely limited” on its ability to assist and support its citizens there.
Philadelphia Catholic priest Fr. Tom Hogan successfully brokered a ceasefire between four Haitian gangs in Port-at-Prince’s Brooklyn district.