The Americans were crossing gang-controlled territory to reach an airstrip outside the U.S. Embassy on Wednesday as gunmen fought for control of the Haitian capital.
Around 1,000 US citizens are believed to be stuck in the Caribbean country which has descended into near anarchy since Prime Minister Ariel Henry was forced from office last week.
Exchanges of gunfire broke out in the embassy district of Pétion-Ville as 15 Americans were evacuated by helicopter from the capital Port-au-Prince, and 14 others left from the north of the country for Orlando aboard a theft organized by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
The State Department predicted that 30 Americans could be evacuated each day as gangs broke down the doors of the once-prosperous neighborhoods of Pétion-Ville, Meyotte, Diègue and Métivier.
“If the neighborhood had mobilized, we could have destroyed them, but they were heavily armed and we could do nothing,” said Samuel Orelus, a resident of Pétion-Ville.
Neighborhood vigilante group holds tools it hopes to keep gangs at bay
Other corpses appeared overnight in the streets of the capital Port-au-Prince
Large parts of the capital have been reduced to a deadly wasteland as gangs fight for control
“There were around 30 heavily armed men.
“When I woke up to go to work, I realized I couldn’t leave because the neighborhood was in the hands of bandits.”
The neighborhood is home to a dozen foreign embassies and high-end hotels that were targeted by notorious gang leader Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier.
Thousands of residents have banded together in self-defense organizations known as the Bwa Kale movement to try to keep the gangs at bay, but they have also been accused of carrying out summary executions.
Fifteen people were reported dead in the neighborhood on Wednesday and a Reuters reporter saw two suspected gang members killed, dismembered and set on fire before being dragged into the street.
The capital’s port and airport are blocked by gangs, but DeSantis said the airport in Cap-Haitien, in northern Haiti, remains open to the roughly 360 Floridians still stuck in the country.
“This will probably be the first in a long line of flights to bring in people — U.S. citizens, Florida residents, obviously — who are in danger, given what’s happening in Haiti,” he said. -he adds.
“We’re willing to dedicate resources, we understand that it’s important, we understand that there are people who are really in danger right now, those are our fellow citizens of Florida.”
The police are underarmed and vastly outnumbered by gangs whose ranks were swollen by 4,000 prisoners freed during the assault on two of the capital’s largest prisons.
Of this victim of violence in the capital, only ashes remain
Coffins became a common sight as they were brought out to remove the dead from the streets.
Its executive director of emergency management, Kevin Guthri, said he ran into “problem after problem” trying to verify the identities of evacuees with the federal government, but insisted the flights would continue .
“We pick people up at their door, put them on a plane, get them to this airport and bring them back to their door in Florida,” he added.
“That’s what we’re committed to doing.”
There were scenes of joy as passengers reunited with loved ones at Sanford Orlando Airport, but those evacuated by helicopter from Port-au-Prince were taken to Santo Domingo in the neighboring Dominican Republic.
“We will continue to monitor in real time the request for assistance from U.S. citizens to leave Haiti,” a State Department official said.
“The overall security situation, availability and reliability of commercial transportation, and demand from U.S. citizens will all influence how long this assistance initially lasts.”
According to humanitarian agencies, more than 1.5 million Haitians are threatened with famine and around 17,000 have lost their homes.
A woman hugs her baby and runs as gunshots ring out across Port-au-Prince, as at least 80 percent of the capital is in the hands of gangs who are turning to the city’s wealthy neighborhoods. city.
Bloodstains on an exterior wall are all that remains of a victim shot in Pétion-Ville
Fighting intensified with the release of around 4,000 prisoners after two of the country’s largest prisons were overrun by gangs.
Former Prime Minister Henry, who was impeached after postponing an already long-delayed election, found himself stuck in Puerto Rico trying to negotiate the creation of a transitional government between the warring factions.
Hopes for a breakthrough were raised on Wednesday amid reports that a nine-member council had been agreed after the last holdout, Jean-Charles Moïse, of the Pitit Desalin party, agreed to join.
