Due to gang control over the area, the Port-au-Prince airport is still closed. As a result, on Sunday, 30 Americans were transported to Miami by the first official evacuation flight.
Late last week, there was no abrupt evacuation plan in place, indicating a quick reaction to the worsening circumstances.
According to State Department spokesman Vedant Patel,”An assessment was made by us of the situation on the ground, both in terms of security and the availability of commercial options, which led us to believe it was in the interest of American citizens to make their way to Cap-Haitien.”
Future flight information is still unknown because Cap-Haitien, which is 100 miles from Port-au-Prince, is the departure point for aircraft that are run over a roadway that is dangerous due to violent gang activity.
Representative Carlos Gimenez, a Republican from Florida, and other South Florida congressmen who are in favor of a multinational force intervention, stressed the necessity of taking a more assertive stand in order to bring order back to Haiti.
He remarked, in part, at a press conference on Monday, “We need to take a more aggressive stance and restore order in Haiti.”
On Sunday’s program of This Week in South Florida, Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Democrat from Florida, declared, “We will not tolerate in our backyard for gangs to take any government.”
Meanwhile, using helicopter connections, private efforts—led by Florida Congressman Cory Mills, a combat veteran of the Army and military contractor—have successfully evacuated scores, including missionaries.
According to Patel, over one thousand individuals who are in dire need of leaving Haiti have completed a crisis intake form. Official evacuations are slated to take place “as the security environment permits.”