epa11205757 Protesters attend a demonstration held to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry this Thursday in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 07 March 2024. Several dozen people took to the streets of Port-au-Prince to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who is in Puerto Rico after a failed attempt to return to his country on 05 March. EPA-EFE/Johnson Sabin The overnight actions, taken at the request of the State Department, will “allow our embassy mission operations to continue, and enable non-essential personnel to depart,” US Southern Command said in a statement on Sunday.
The situation in Haiti has deteriorated in recent days. Gangs over the weekend set the Interior Ministry ablaze overnight and attacked police stations and government offices in the capital of Port-au-Prince.
Read more: Haitian Gangs Torch Ministry as Political Violence Escalates
The violence over the past week has been aimed at toppling the government of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who left Haiti on Feb. 25 and was mostly recently seen in Puerto Rico.
The airlift into and out of the embassy was called consistent with standard practice for shoring up embassy security, Southern Command said in its statement.
No Haitians were aboard the aircraft, it said.
The US embassy in Haiti remains focused on “accelerating a peaceful transition of power” in Haiti via “free and fair elections,” Southern Command said.