A U.S.-based organization that has carried out rescue missions for Americans caught in conflicts across the globe is preparing to conduct similar missions in Haiti.
The Caribbean nation of Haiti has been plunged into chaos as various and often competing gangs joined together to destabilize the capital of Port-au-Prince and secure the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
Project Dynamo is a non-profit made up of former U.S. military and intelligence officials who came together in August 2021 to rescue Americans who were unable to leave Afghanistan before the military withdrew at the end of the month and were essentially left behind. They have carried out operations in Afghanistan, Ukraine, Russia, Sudan, Israel, Gaza, and Maui with the wildfires and after Hurricane Ian hit Florida.
Members of the non-profit are currently in Haiti. They are aware of around 30 Americans who are hoping to leave the nation.
“It’s a challenge, right? The gangs out there are decentralized, so even if the leaders of the gangs say, ‘Let’s do a ceasefire,’ it doesn’t mean anyone follows it,” Project Dynamo Bryan Stern said on Thursday. “They’re shooting people in the streets, so it’s incredibly dangerous.”
The U.S. military has evacuated some non-essential embassy staffers, while the military has also boosted its presence there. U.S. forces are not yet carrying out widespread evacuations, according to administration officials.
“The embassy in Port-au-Prince remains open. We did enhance our security posture there over the weekend and earlier this week, but the embassy continues to remain open at this time,” Deputy Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said on Thursday. “Our mission right now with the personnel that are on the ground is to shore up security at the embassy, and we were able to remove some nonessential personnel, but that’s our main focus at this time.”
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the same day that the U.S. was not “actively planning for any evacuation” effort. He couldn’t say how many Americans are currently in Haiti though he noted, “There are several hundred Americans who have registered to receive more information when we can provide it to them.”
Rep. Cory Mills (FL-R) also helped arrange the evacuation of 10 Americans from Haiti this week, one of whom was author Mitch Albom.
Albom, who runs an orphanage in Haiti, said in a statement he “had a responsibility to bring home eight wonderful volunteers who were working with us. But my wife’s and my hearts ache for our kids still there,” adding, “Saying goodbye to them this time was horribly difficult.”
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Similar to Project Dynamo, Mills has carried out rescue missions for Americans hoping to depart from troubled hot spots across the globe when the military has been unable to do so.
“Joe Biden has a history of abandoning American citizens, from the botched Afghan withdrawal, to Israel, and now Haiti,” Mills said. “He has failed to uphold his oath to protect American citizens, both at home and abroad. If Joe Biden and his failed administration won’t do their jobs, I will continue to do it for them.”
