An elite team of Marines has been dispatched to Haiti to help defend the U.S. embassy there after the country’s prime minister announced his resignation and gang violence continues to spiral out of control.
The Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team (F.A.S.T.) team was dispatched as chaos reigns in the streets and Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier, a former policeman-turned-gangster, called for a “bloody revolution.” Nearly two dozen gangs control an estimated 80% of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, the Daily Mail reported. “Barbecue” is the leader of one of the prominent gang coalitions that have emerged in the city.
“At the request of the Department of State, the U.S. Southern Command deployed a U.S. Marine Fleet-Anti-terrorism Security Team (FAST) to maintain strong security capabilities at the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and conduct relief in place for our current Marines, a common and routine practice worldwide. The U.S. Embassy remains open, and limited operations continue, focused on assistance to US citizens and supporting Haitian led efforts to secure a peaceful transition of power,” a statement from the U.S. Southern Command said, according to CBS News.
The U.S. evacuated non-essential personnel from the embassy over the weekend as violence in the country’s capital escalated. Thousands of criminals poured into the streets after gangs stormed the Port-au-Prince jail. They have also attacked the capital’s airport and engaged in firefights with cops.
Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry agreed to resign on Tuesday after he was unable to re-enter the country because the violence closed the country’s airports. He is currently in Puerto Rico.
Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) organized a mission that helped 10 Americans who were working at an orphanage in the capital evacuate the country, the Daily Mail reported.
Mills slammed the Biden administration’s “pattern of abandonment” of U.S. citizens, telling Fox News Digital, “This mission reiterates a disturbing reality under President Biden’s leadership: American lives are continually jeopardized. I have led missions to rescue Americans multiple times when Joe Biden has deserted them.”
Mills previously helped Americans escape Afghanistan during Biden’s 2021 withdrawal and helped nearly three dozen Americans get out of Israel in the wake of the Hamas terrorist attack in late 2023, the New York Post noted.
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“Yet again, this group was left behind by Biden and his State Department after requesting their help in-country,” he added.
Nearly 1,200 people have been killed as a result of the violence raging in the Caribbean nation, according to CBS News.