Citing violent unrest US tells citizens do not travel to Haiti

“Do not travel to Haiti due to crime and civil unrest,” the U.S. State Department says, urging Americans to avoid the country that is wracked with violent protests against President Jovenel Moise. The State Department is pulling all nonemergency U.S. personnel and their family members from the country.

The U.S. advisory comes one week after anti-corruption protests intensified, reflecting fury over a court report that alleges billions of dollars in development money from Venezuela’s Petrocaribe fund were diverted or misused. The accusations include Moise and a company he headed before he took office in 2017.

At least seven deaths have been reported, and large demonstrations have paralyzed much of Haiti, with barricades and roadblocks and the threat of roving criminals. Until Thursday night, Moise had not spoken at length publicly about the situation, but he broke his silence in a national address that was aired on TV and streamed on Facebook.

“I hear you,” Moise told the country in Creole, echoing remarks he made when protests roiled the country last July. He acknowledged the crisis has grown more serious since then — but the president rejected the idea of resigning, saying he wanted to work on behalf of regular people.

“I will not leave the country in the hands of armed gangs and drug traffickers,” he said, according to Agence France-Presse.

His critics say Moise is a symbol of the mismanagement and profiteering that take place at the highest levels while Haitians watch their country sink deeper into poverty. In recent years, Haiti’s already bad economy has unraveled, bringing double-digit inflation and high prices for essential goods.

The demonstrations against Moise are widespread and unpredictable, the U.S. said, citing incidents of burning tires and roadblocks. The U.S. is urging any Americans who are in Haiti to “strongly consider” leaving as soon as they can.

“Protests, tire burning, and road blockages are frequent and unpredictable. Violent crime, such as armed robbery, is common,” the State Department said in a recent security update. “Local police may lack the resources to respond effectively to serious criminal incidents, and emergency response, including ambulance service, is limited or non-existent.”

Amid the chaos, inmates staged a mass breakout at a prison, with 78 prisoners escaping from a facility in Aquin.