US embassy in Haiti urges citizens to leave country 'as soon as possible'

MicroWave@lemm.ee to News@lemmy.world – 209 points – US embassy in Haiti urges citizens to leave country 'as soon as possible'
reuters.com

The U.S. Embassy in Haiti on Wednesday urged citizens in the Caribbean country to leave "as soon as possible" citing security and infrastructure challenges, as escalating violence has left thousands displaced and sent homicides soaring.

"U.S. citizens in Haiti should depart Haiti as soon as possible via commercial or private transport," the embassy said in a statement, urging extreme caution.

An escalating gang turf war in Haiti has caused a devastating humanitarian crisis that has displaced around 200,000 nationwide and left some 5.2 million people - nearly half of Haiti's population – in need of humanitarian aid, according to the United Nations.

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Haïti was dealt a bad hand from the start. It's been living through disaster after disaster since it gained independence.

For the longest time, Haïti had to pay reparations to France, its former colonizers. The ordinance was in place until 2016, and greatly limited Haïti's economic potential.

This is on top of Haïti's geography that makes it very prone to earthquakes.

Poverty = inequality = violence = humanitarian crisis.