Private operation led by ex-NFLer rescues over 60 Americans from chaotic, gang-plagued Haiti
More than 60 Americans have been evacuated from Haiti in a private operation led by former New York Giant Jack Brewer as the Caribbean nation plunges into chaos and gang violence.
The Brewer Foundation collaborated with several organizations to help track down and evacuate Americans through what were often extremely dangerous conditions.
This effort involved more than half a dozen helicopter transfers costing between $15,000 and $80,000, and numerous volunteers working on co-ordination as well as ground efforts.
“As I was busy evacuating others, the area where my family and I reside was attacked by gangs. My partner and his neighbor’s house were overrun,” one rescued American who was granted anonymity for safety reasons, recounted to The Post.
“There were at least five children, all of whom were US citizens holed up in both that individual’s and their neighbor’s homes. Ultimately they were evacuated in the rescue effort.”
Brewer, 45, played in 40 NFL games across four seasons with the Giants, Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles.
The Texas native and his foundation have worked to support three orphanages in Haiti for well over a decade, and Brewer knows many of the people his team has helped bring to safety.
The ex-safety formally began shipping people out of Haiti late last month and is aiming to rescue up to 300 people.
At times, volunteers have been forced to reroute their evacuation routes due to sporadic shooting in the streets and take cover in nearby hotels and other venues.
“[One] gentleman, the first day we started coordinating his evacuation, took a bullet to the head,” Brewer recalled to The Post. “He was at his house on the phone … and gangsters broke in.”
In another case, Brewer said, a family “had 18 people start invading their home, chopping the fence” and ultimately were caught in a “shootout that lasted for hours” before being able to escape.
“[A] dear friend of mine, [was] visiting his father for dinner,” Brewer went on. “Seven men invaded their home, and they had to hold them off with gunfire.
“This is the reality that we’re living in. The crazy thing is no one’s immune to it,” he added. “People are dying by the day.”
Unrest and chaos in Haiti have spiraled into what some analysts have likened to a civil war as a flood of gang violence has swept the nation.
Last month, Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced that he would resign in response to international pressure once a traditional presidential council is convened.
Haiti’s current crisis stems in part from its struggle to fill the shoes left by President Jovenel Moïse, who was assassinated in 2021.
The nation has fractured bitterly over how to replace him and the political strife has been bubbling up for some time.
In addition to the uptick in gang violence, Haitians have also been dogged by dwindling food and other critical supplies, as well as rampant disease.
To maximize safety, rescuers stay in constant communication as they escort Americans through the perilous streets of Port-au-Prince and elsewhere.
“We have people in certain areas that can give real-time updates on what’s going on,” Brewer explained. “These conditions can change at any second, so you got to be aware.”
“[You have to make] sure that you’re not staying in any place for a very long time,” he added. “You gotta make sure that the place that you have is prepared in case you have delays.”
Brewer formed his private charity in 2006 after and uses it to carry out relief missions, orphanage care, prison ministry, and other philanthropy around the world.
Hundreds, if not more, Americans are still believed to be trapped in the war-torn nation, according to US officials.
In addition to the Brewer Foundation, other organizations such as the veteran-led group Project Dynamo and the state of Florida have conducted various rescue operations to pull Americans out of Haiti.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday that the Sunshine State had helped evacuate over 200 residents from the country.
