A group of suspected Haitian gang members opened fire on U.S. troops guarding the U.S. embassy in Port-au-Prince this week, a spokesperson said Saturday, highlighting the Caribbean country’s tense security situation.
U.S. Marine Corps spokesman Col. Stephen J. Keenan said in an email that the shooting incident, which was uncovered this weekend, occurred on Thursday, adding that Marines returned fire. No Marines were injured in the attack.
Haitian police could not be reached for comment on the shootout.
Gangs control 90% of Haiti’s capital, using heavy weapons to extort businesses and fighting over territory.
Although the United States continues to operate an embassy in Haiti, the State Department has issued multiple warnings in recent years against Americans traveling to Haiti, citing the risk of kidnapping, crime, terrorist activity, and civil unrest.
According to the United Nations, more than 1.3 million Haitians have been forced to flee their homes due to gang violence in recent years.
Security in the country of about 12 million people has deteriorated rapidly since 2021, when President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in his home by mercenaries.
The president’s killing created a power vacuum that domestic politicians have struggled to fill, and no replacement has been elected to replace Moïse.
In late September, the United Nations Security Council voted to create an anti-gang force of approximately 5,500 people to be sent to Haiti to fight heavily armed criminal groups.
Kenya’s small number of police officers are struggling to quell gangs that killed 5,600 people last year, according to the United Nations Human Rights Office.
