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Overview:
The U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince has resumed its operations after temporarily shutting down due to gunfire near its compound in Tabarre. While services for U.S. citizens and visa applicants have restarted, conditions remain volatile as gang activity escalates in the capital. The recent kidnapping of eight people—including a child—from an orphanage in Kenscoff and a UN report citing over 1,500 deaths and at least 185 kidnappings between April and June highlight Haiti’s worsening crisis.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — The U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince resumed normal operations Tuesday, a day after closing due to heavy gunfire near its compound in Tabarre, a neighborhood in the Haitian capital long plagued by gang activity.
“The U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince is on routine operational status today. All regularly scheduled appointments for U.S. citizen services and visas will be honored,” officials posted on X. They also encouraged Americans in Haiti to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) for real-time alerts and updates.
The temporary closure followed an embassy security alert on Aug. 4 that warned of active gunfire near the mission’s compound. U.S. government personnel were placed on lockdown, and official movements paused.
Despite the reopening, Haiti remains on the U.S. State Department’s list of highest-risk destinations, ranked seventh on a list of 21 countries under a Level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisory. The designation warns of “extreme risk” due to crime, civil unrest and the U.S. government’s limited capacity to assist citizens.
The previous embassy security alert had been issued in June, when routine domestic flights resumed. At that time, American citizens were urged to depart Haiti using commercial or private transportation “when conditions permitted.”
Amid the Level 4 advisory, Tabarre is a flashpoint in Haiti’s security breakdown
Tabarre, situated a few miles northeast of downtown Port-au-Prince, has become a contested area among some of Haiti’s most violent armed groups. Gangs such as Chen Mechan, Taliban, Kraze Baryè and 400 Mawozo are known to operate in and around the commune, frequently clashing with police and each other.
In April, gunmen from rival gangs set fire to homes in the Tabarre 27 neighborhood and forced dozens of families to flee. Those attacks followed similar assaults in February and were marked by prolonged gun battles with police.
Since then, ongoing turf wars—especially between Chen Mechan and 400 Mawozo—have continued to destabilize the area. Despite the presence of key institutions there, like the Motorized Intervention Brigade (BIM), police headquarters, Toussaint Louverture International Airport and the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support Mission’s (MSS) base, gang activity remains.
The U.S Embassy itself has not been immune. In October 2024 and January 2025, vehicles associated with the diplomatic mission were fired upon in Tabarre. In the January incident, an embassy gardener was injured. Bullet holes were later found on armored U.S. vehicles.
A week of rising political stakes and pressure on Haiti’s aid sector
The Tabarre shooting occurred just one day before armed men kidnapped eight people—including seven staff members, among them Irish missionary Gena Heraty, and a 3-year-old child—from the Saint-Hélène orphanage in Kenscoff. The orphanage serves children with disabilities and is operated by the nonprofit Nos Petits Frères et Sœurs.
As a result, the St. Luke Foundation and Our Little Brothers and Sisters (NPH, its Spanish acronym) immediately suspended all services, including St. Damien Pediatric and St. Luc hospitals, in protest of the abductions. The Institute of Social Welfare and Research (IBESR) condemned the attack as an “unspeakable act of cruelty” and urged immediate reinforcement of protection around care centers.
“This is horrifying. An unacceptable act,” IBESR said in a statement. “These institutions serve the most vulnerable children in the country. We raised the alarm, but the urgency was underestimated.”
The kidnapping came just one day after former senator Nenel Cassy from the Nippes Department was arrested in Pétion-Ville. Cassy, wanted since February, is accused of conspiracy against state security, funding criminal groups and complicity in murder. Authorities believe he played a role in orchestrating attacks in Kenscoff.
Cassy joins other political figures and ex-lawmakers—including Prophane Victor and Alfredo Antoine—suspected of providing logistical support to gangs. Antoine was previously detained but later released due to a lack of evidence, according to the Port-au-Prince Prosecutor’s Office. As for Victor, he remains in custody pending judicial proceedings.
These developments unfolded as the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) released a report confirming the deepening crisis. Just in three months—from April through June—at least 1,520 people were killed and 609 injured. Another 185 people were kidnapped, mostly in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area— such as Tabarre and Croix-des-Bouquets—Artibonite and Centre departments.
“Gangs are exerting de facto control over swaths of Haitian territory, using violence to enforce fear,” the report stated. BINUH urged accelerated deployment of the MSS, stronger vetting of police officers, and greater efforts to dismantle arms trafficking networks.