U.S. Marines Clash with Haitian Gang Members at U.S. Embassy
The Caribbean nation of nearly 12 million residents has experienced escalating bloodshed following President Jovenel Moise's 2021 assassination, as heavily armed criminal organizations have exploited the resulting instability to expand territorial control across Port-au-Prince and surrounding regions. The country has operated under emergency status for more than a year.
Marines returned gunfire after coming under attack from suspected gang members late Thursday, US Marine spokesman Captain Steven J. Keenan stated Sunday.
No American service members sustained injuries during the firefight, Keenan confirmed.
The US State Department mandated the departure of nonessential American government personnel and their dependents from Haiti in July 2023. The agency maintains a 'Level 4: Do Not Travel' advisory for the nation, warning of kidnapping threats, criminal activity, terrorist operations, and civil disorder.
In June, UN Office on Drugs and Crime director Ghada Fathi Waly reported that criminal organizations control "approximately 90% of Port-au-Prince... under their grip," while extending violent operations into previously stable territories. Gang monopolization of critical supply corridors has paralyzed legitimate business activity, inflating prices for necessities including cooking fuel and rice, Waly noted.
UN statistics indicate at least 5,600 individuals perished in gang violence throughout Haiti during 2024, with 1.3 million people internally displaced by the ongoing catastrophe.
A Kenyan-commanded, UN-backed stabilization force that deployed to Haiti in 2024 to suppress the violence successfully liberated the presidential compound and reopened several vital thoroughfares, but failed to achieve additional gains due to insufficient manpower and resources. Approximately 40% of the authorized 2,500 troops actually arrived in-country, according to media.
Last month, the UN Security Council voted to restructure the operation into the Gang Suppression Force, comprising 5,500 military and law enforcement personnel.
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