State Department orders non-essential diplomatic personnel out of Haiti after latest wave of violence

The State Department ordered a large number of government personnel from Haiti to exit the country, as well as their families and accompanying persons. Anthony Blinken's department made the decision at the same time as it raised the alert to level four for the Caribbean country. Haiti has plunged into a growing spiral of violence and instability.

The State Department order affects non-essential diplomatic workers and staff in the country. Those remaining in Haiti were ordered not to leave the embassy compound and to avoid any potentially dangerous situations. The State Department reported that the decision was made after heavy gunfire broke out in the vicinity of the U.S. embassy in Port-au-Prince.

The Government also requested that U.S. citizens in the country leave the country as soon as possible. As of this week, Haiti has a level four alert in the State Department's benchmark. It is the highest alert level, and expressly asks Americans not to travel to the country in question.

According to local reports, the latest wave of gang violence pushed a large crowd of Haitians to seek refuge in front of the U.S. embassy compound. The situation degenerated into clashes with law enforcement. All this created chaos around the embassy, which forced the State Department's decision.

In its statement, the State Department expresses its opinion that the country's safety has degenerated to the point of not being able to ensure the security of its nationals in the Haitian capital. The dangers include carefully planned kidnappings with the objective of obtaining ransom payments.

According to the United Nations, the capital of Port-au-Prince is almost 80% controlled by criminal gangs. In 2021, Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated, and since then the island nation has had no elected government.