Last week, there was a report that Marines guarding the United States embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, exchanged fire with suspected gang members on the street outside the American compound. No Marines were injured in the exchange. It's unclear whether or not any gang members were hit in the exchange.
The State Department has yet to comment on the matter.
U.S. Marines protecting the American embassy in Haiti exchanged gunfire with suspected gang members last week, a Marine spokesman said.
Capt. Steven J. Keenan told Fox News Digital in an emailed statement Sunday that Marines supporting embassy security operations were fired upon by suspected gang members in the capital of Port-au-Prince and returned fire on the evening of Nov. 13.
"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.
No service members were injured in the incident, which was first reported over the weekend by The Washington Post.
We should note that a bunch of Haitian gang members deciding to exchange bullets with the United States Marines is pretty much the definition of "biting off more than you can chew." Haiti is one of the world's most violent nations and has had no effective government for some time.
The Caribbean nation has been plagued by gang violence, with armed groups reportedly controlling up to 90% of Port-au-Prince, according to the United Nations. The groups block access roads, attack infrastructure, and terrorize civilians through kidnappings, rapes and killings.
There has been no elected government in Haiti since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021.
The U.N. said a gang suppression force of 5,550 was set to begin operations in Haiti on Oct. 2, working alongside Haitian authorities to neutralize gangs, secure infrastructure and support humanitarian access.
Granted, it's only been a little over a month, but it doesn't seem as though the gangs have been neutralized.
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This whole thing raises one interesting question: Why is the United States maintaining an embassy in a place as chaotic, as ungoverned, and as violent as Haiti? The United States State Department has had a "Level 4: Do Not Travel" warning on its official website for some time. That warning reads in part:
Do not travel to Haiti due to kidnapping, crime, terrorist activity, civil unrest, and limited health care.
In July of 2023, non-emergency federal employees and their families were ordered to leave the country, and Haiti has been in a state of emergency since March of 2024. Floods of Haitians came to the United States under the Biden administration, who promptly shuttled them out to settle in small towns across the United States, where there have been a number of complaints from places like Springfield, Ohio, about the stress the Haitians place on essential services.
What is the United States gaining from maintaining the embassy there, save to put American citizens and service members in harm's way? The embassy at present is maintaining minimal staff and operations, including such things as visa processing.
Maybe it's time to consider shutting the embassy down until some semblance of sanity returns to Haiti.
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