US News

47 Americans trapped in Haiti rescued on charter plane as gang violence in Caribbean nation escalates

By
Bradford Betz, Fox News
Published March 18, 2024, 7:20 a.m. ET

As Haiti spirals into chaos after weeks of gang violence, the first rescue charter flight took off from the Caribbean nation and landed in Miami Sunday afternoon, a US official confirmed to Fox News. 

All 47 passengers on board are believed to be Americans and the flight was reserved only for those who had US passports, the official said. 

The flight took off from the city of Cap-Haïtien, about a five-and-a-half-hour drive north from the capital of Port-au-Prince, which is largely under the control of gangs. 

The US State Department announced the charter flight on X Saturday, providing a link for an application for those who wanted to get on it.

It warned that US citizens should consider the flight only if they could reach the Cap-Haïtien airport safely.

Passengers walk through the Arrivals area after arriving on the first evacuation flight out of Cap-Haitien, Haiti, at Miami International Airport on March 17, 2024.
Passengers walk through the Arrivals area after arriving on the first evacuation flight out of Cap-Haitien, Haiti, at Miami International Airport on March 17, 2024. TNS
Orlando, Florida, resident Abson Louis, 46, pauses in search of friends after arriving on the first evacuation flight out of Cap-Haitien, Haiti, that landed at Miami International Airport on March 17, 2024.
A man pauses in search of friends after arriving on the first evacuation flight out of Cap-Haitien, Haiti, that landed at Miami International Airport on March 17, 2024. TNS

This comes days after the State Department said there were no immediate plans to evacuate American citizens, citing the many warnings not to travel to Haiti over the last four years. 

Meanwhile, the non-profit Project Dynamo is working on rescuing at least 40 Americans by air or sea. It’s not clear if any of those people were on board Sunday’s charter flight. 

The State Department says it is aware of at least several hundred more American citizens who are still stuck in Haiti. 

The rescue flight landing comes days after the State Department said there were no immediate plans to evacuate American citizens out of violence-torn Haiti.
The rescue flight landing comes days after the State Department said there were no immediate plans to evacuate American citizens out of violence-torn Haiti. ZUMAPRESS.com

Sunday’s flight comes after the US flew in military forces to beef up security and evacuate non-essential personnel at the American embassy. 

The United States flew in military forces last week to beef up security at the American Embassy and seemingly quash speculation that senior US government officials might be leaving.

Gangs have raged through Haiti in recent weeks, attacking key institutions and shutting down the main international airport.

US flew in military forces to heighten security measures and evacuate non-essential personnel at the American embassy, as gangs have raged through Haiti in recent.
US flew in military forces to heighten security measures and evacuate non-essential personnel at the American embassy, as gangs have raged through Haiti recently. REUTERS

The chaos has pushed many Haitians to the brink of famine and left many more in increasingly desperate conditions.

The violence has left Haiti’s government in a state of turmoil and prompted Prime Minister Ariel Henry to pledge that he would resign once a key transitional council was in place.