U.S. Marines in Haiti exchanged gunfire this week with suspected gang members, U.S. military officials said Saturday, in an incident that highlights the precarious security environment in the island nation.
The incident occurred Thursday evening, said Capt. Steven Keenan, a Marine Corps spokesman. He said in a statement that “Marines supporting embassy security operations were fired upon” in the capital city of Port-au-Prince and then returned fire. None of the Marines were injured, he added.
U.S. Marines in Haiti exchanged gunfire this week with suspected gang members, U.S. military officials said Saturday, in an incident that highlights the precarious security environment in the island nation.
The incident occurred Thursday evening, said Capt. Steven Keenan, a Marine Corps spokesman. He said in a statement that “Marines supporting embassy security operations were fired upon” in the capital city of Port-au-Prince and then returned fire. None of the Marines were injured, he added.
“U. S. Marines are committed to the safety and security of U.S. embassies worldwide and respond to all threats with professionalism and swift, disciplined action,” Keenan said.
The State Department, U.S. Embassy in Haiti and U.S. Southern Command, which oversees military operations in the region, did not respond to requests for comment.
The incident, which has not previously been reported, comes after the Pentagon last year bolstered security at the embassy in Haiti as it was beset by gang violence. The country has been mired in chaos for years and has had no elected president since 2021, when Jovenel Moïse was assassinated.
Haiti is run by a transitional presidential council that took power last year and has struggled to establish order. Armed gangs control about 85 percent of the capital, according to the United Nations.
In August, the U.S. Embassy in Haiti said in a statement that a contingent of U.S. Marines had arrived to “provide security for our diplomatic post and coordinate an eventual rotation of Marines” who were deployed previously to bolster embassy security. The deployment, the embassy said, allowed the U.S. diplomatic mission to continue its assistance to Haitian police and a multinational security mission.
The embassy is open for emergency services. In previous security alerts this year, it has disclosed previous incidents with heavy gunfire nearby.
The State Department in 2023 evacuated “nonemergency U.S. government employees” from the embassy. It has instructed U.S. citizens not to travel to Haiti.
“Haiti has been under a State of Emergency since March 2024,” the department said in a travel alert posted in July. “Crimes involving firearms are common in Haiti. They include robbery, carjackings, sexual assault, and kidnappings for ransom.”
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