Western diplomats leave Haiti as regional leaders gear up for crucial talks

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, CMC -Western diplomats based in Haiti have been evacuated from the troubled French-speaking CARICOM country as regional leaders gear up for a meeting in Jamaica on Monday to discuss the way forward for its troubled member state.

The German Foreign Ministry confirmed that the country's ambassador to Haiti, Peter Sauer, has left the country for the neighbouring Dominican Republic due to a “very tense security situation,” while members of the European Union Delegation, including the European Union ambassador, Stefano Gatto, have also travelled to the Dominican Republic.

“They will work from there for now,” the foreign ministry noted.

The United States have already evacuated members of its diplomatic mission after confirming on Sunday it conducted an operation to airlift non-essential personnel from the US embassy and to bolster the security of its mission in the capital.

The US State Department said it had arranged for the evacuation overnight due to “heightened gang violence in the neighbourhood near US embassy compounds and near the airport”.

US Southern Command said the move was consistent with “standard practice for Embassy security augmentation worldwide” and that no Haitians were on board the military aircraft.

“Our Embassy remains focused on advancing US government efforts to support the Haitian people,” US Southern Command said in a statement Sunday, adding that the evacuation helps to “allow our Embassy mission operations to continue.”

Haiti's international airport is closed due to the insecurity and its main container port terminal, run by Caribbean Port Services, was attacked and looted on March 8.

Chairman of the CARICOM grouping, Dr Irfaan Ali, said that the regional leaders will meet in Jamaica on Monday to discuss the ongoing situation in Haiti.

A statement issued by the Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat said that “opening statements for the High-Level Meeting on Haiti,” will begin at 1 p.m. and a closing news conference is also scheduled to take place “after the meeting”.

Ali, the Guyana President, said that the meeting is being called to “urgently address this current state of affairs and all other matters critical to the stabilisation of security and the provision of urgent humanitarian aid to the people of Haiti.

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