XPost: soc.culture.haiti, alt.politics.usa.republican, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh   
   XPost: talk.politics.guns, sac.politics   
   From: yourdime@outlook.com   
      
   The US Marine Corps sent an anti-terrorism unit to protect the US Embassy   
   in Haiti amid an eruption of gang violence following the prime minister’s   
   announcement that he plans to step down.   
      
   The US Southern Command, operating in the Greater Miami area, said   
   Wednesday that a Marine Fleet-Anti-Terrorism Security Team (FAST) was   
   dispatched to the US Embassy in Port-au-Prince to “maintain strong   
   security capabilities.”   
      
   The team was deployed at the request of the State Department and will also   
   provide relief for the current Marines already stationed in Haiti and   
   allow additional “non-emergency personnel to depart,” the command said.   
      
   Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, 74, announced Tuesday that he planned   
   to resign once a transitional presidential council was created just hours   
   after Caribbean and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met in Jamaica to   
   discuss the island’s situation.   
      
   The country — which shares borders with the Dominican Republic on the   
   island of Hispaniola — has long been overrun with gang violence that has   
   worsened since Henry’s announcement.   
      
   One US missionary has said: “The gunfire never stops.”   
      
   “The US 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,” the Southern Command said.   
      
   The Defense Department “doubled” the Southern Command’s funding for the   
   Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission. Dozens of FAST Marines in   
   Yorktown, Virginia were deployed, a US defense official told the   
   Washington Post.   
      
   The “FAST” team is made up of units of armed Marines who are specially   
   trained to protect embassies and assist with evacuations in emergency   
   situations. They rapidly deploy to provide backup with short notice.   
      
   What to know about the violence in Haiti:   
   Haiti has declared a state of emergency after gang violence and anarchy   
   broke out in the Caribbean nation.   
   Thousands of inmates have taken to the street after two separate prison   
   breaks in Port-au-Prince.   
   Gang leader Jimmy Chérizier — a former national police member who is known   
   as “Barbecue” — seized power and has vowed to continue fighting until   
   Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigns.   
   Henry is currently in Kenya where he was on an official trip. He has   
   promised to resign once a transitional council is established.   
   The US military has airlifted embassy workers out of Haiti, but some   
   Americans and other foreigners remain trapped in the embattled country.   
   US missionaries have told The Post that the embassy hasn’t been helpful   
   during the crisis.   
   “My fear is that we will be caught in the middle of something really   
   dangerous. We’re already on the front lines of it, we’re in a bad area,”   
   Jill Dolan, who runs an orphanage, said.   
   The team was deployed Tuesday, defense officials told the Washington Post.   
      
   US troops also assisted with a voluntary evacuation of non-essential   
   embassy personnel on Sunday after planners and logistical personnel were   
   dispatched, a defense official told the DC-based paper.   
      
   The US military will work with Kenyan police units, who they will vet   
   before allowing them to be deployed, to help stabilize Haiti, Southern   
   Command said.   
      
   Armed gangs control 80% of the capital city, according to the UN, and   
   continuously wreck havoc.   
      
   This month, gangs freed thousands of prisoners after attacking two   
   prisons, as well as targeting the international airport, police stations,   
   and more.   
      
   Henry has been running the country since January 2023 after former   
   President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated.   
      
   The PM has drawn criticism for failing to control gang violence and for   
   not holding new elections, according to the Washington Post.   
      
   While the political unrest continues, Henry remains in Puerto Rico as he   
   is unable to return due to gangs took control of the airport.   
      
   https://nypost.com/2024/03/13/us-news/anti-terrorism-marine-unit-sent-to-   
   haiti-to-protect-embassy-as-gang-violence-rises-after-pms-resignation-   
   announcement/   
      
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