"PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti (AP) A group of suspected Haitian gang members fired this week on American forces protecting the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, a spokesman said Saturday, in an incident that highlighted the tense security situation in the Caribbean nation. Capt. Steven J. Keenan, a spokesman for the U.S. Marines, wrote in an email that the shooting, which came to light this weekend, happened Thursday, adding that the Marines returned fire. No Marines were hurt in the attack."
"Gangs control 90% of Haiti's capital, where they extort businesses and fight for territory, using heavy weaponry. The United States continues to operate an embassy in Haiti, but in recent years the State Department has issued numerous warnings telling Americans not to travel there, due to the risk of kidnappings, crimes, terrorist activity and civil unrest. According to the United Nations, gang violence has displaced more than 1.3 million Haitians from their homes in recent years."
A group of suspected Haitian gang members fired this week on American forces protecting the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince; U.S. Marines returned fire and no Marines were hurt. Gangs control roughly 90% of Port-au-Prince, extorting businesses and fighting for territory with heavy weaponry. The State Department has repeatedly warned Americans against travel to Haiti because of kidnappings, violent crime, terrorist activity and civil unrest, yet the U.S. embassy remains open. Gang violence has displaced more than 1.3 million people. Security declined sharply after President Jovenel Moïse's 2021 assassination, creating a power vacuum and stalled elections. The U.N. approved a 5,500-troop gang suppression force; a smaller Kenyan police contingent has struggled to contain gangs that killed 5,600 people last year.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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