US Sends Charter Flights to Evacuate Citizens From Haiti After Congress Blocked Kenya Funding
On Saturday, the US government revealed plans to initiate charter flights to assist American citizens who are stranded in Haiti.
Coincidentally, this occurred one day after the Republican-led House of Representatives scrutinized the Biden administration’s choice to allocate Ksh28 billion to Kenya for the Haiti mission.
Due to challenges in securing funding, the Biden administration is currently aiming to remove all U.S. citizens from Haiti, following the evacuation of non-essential embassy personnel a week prior.
Due to the occupation of Haiti’s primary airport in Port-au-Prince by gangs, the United States opted to utilize the lesser-known airport located in Cap-Haïtien instead.
“We are arranging a charter flight for U.S. citizens from Cap-Haitien to the United States, assuming the security situation in Cap-Haitien remains stable,” the US government updated its citizens.
Only individuals holding valid passports who are citizens of the United States were permitted to board the charter flights.
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“U.S. citizens who choose to depart using U.S. government-coordinated flights must sign a promissory note agreeing to reimburse the U.S. government for the cost of the flight,” the statement read further.
It was announced on Thursday, March 14, that Kenya would dispatch a reconnaissance team to Haiti before sending 1,000 police officers to the conflict-ridden Caribbean country.
The assessment conducted by the US embassy in Haiti observed that the conditions were both unpredictable and hazardous.
Despite the presence of well-trained Marines guarding US government representatives in Haiti, the dominant global power acknowledged its inability to ensure the safety of its citizens.
President William Ruto has pledged that despite the worsening conditions in Haiti, Kenya remains steadfast in its commitment to support the Haitian people.
Even though the funding from the United States faced an obstacle, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has pledged that his nation will contribute an equivalent of Ksh8.2 billion to the project.
US Sends Charter Flights to Evacuate Citizens From Haiti After Congress Blocked Kenya Funding