US Marines guarding the US Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, were involved in a firefight with suspected gang members last week, according to a military spokesperson. The incident occurred amid ongoing violence in Haiti, which has been exacerbated by the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021. Since then, heavily armed criminal groups have taken control of significant areas of the country, leading to a state of emergency that has resulted in over 5,600 deaths in gang-related incidents in 2024 and the displacement of 1.3 million people.
The US State Department has ordered nonessential US government employees and their families to leave Haiti since July 2023, citing the high risk of kidnapping, crime, terrorist activity, and civil unrest. The country currently has a ‘Level 4: Do Not Travel’ warning in place. Despite efforts by the UN and a Kenyan-led mission to curb the violence, control over key trade routes by criminal groups has crippled legal commerce, leading to a sharp rise in the cost of essential goods such as cooking fuel and rice.
In June, the head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Ghada Fathi Waly, stated that gangs have ‘approximately 90% of Port-au-Prince… under their grip,’ while expanding their attacks to other areas that were previously peaceful. The UN Security Council has decided to reorganize the mission into the Gang Suppression Force, which will be composed of 5,500 soldiers and police officers. However, the Kenyan-led, UN-supported mission, which arrived in Haiti in 2024, was only able to free the presidential palace in the capital and unblock several key roads due to reported lack of personnel and equipment, with only around 40% of the planned 2,500 troops deployed.