As criminal gangs overrun Haiti, MEA says India ready to evacuate its citizens

Embattled PM Ariel Henry has offered to step down amid efforts by CARICOM to establish a transitional governing council

NEW DELHI: India said on Friday it is prepared to evacuate up to 90 Indian nationals from Haiti following a dramatic deterioration of the security situation in the Caribbean nation, whose capital and other areas have been overrun by criminal gangs.

National Police stand guard outside the empty National Penitentiary after a small fire inside in downtown Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on March 14. This is the same facility that armed gangs stormed late March 2 and hundreds of inmates escaped. (AP)

With government structures and social order in Haiti on the brink of collapse, embattled Prime Minister Ariel Henry has offered to step down amid efforts by the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) to establish a transitional governing council.

There are between 75 and 90 Indians in Haiti and about 60 of them have registered with Indian authorities to “come back if need be”, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a regular media briefing. “We are ready to evacuate everybody,” he said.

The Indian side has reached out to 30-odd nuns from the Missionaries of Charity, the Kolkata-based organisation established by Mother Teresa, who are in Haiti though it is still unclear whether all of them will opt to return.

India doesn’t have an embassy in Haiti and the situation in the country is being monitored by the Indian mission at Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, and by the external affairs ministry in New Delhi. Control rooms and emergency helpline numbers have been established in both Santo Domingo and New Delhi.

The Indian embassy in Santo Domingo, which also has accreditation for Haiti, is in touch with all Indians in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince and other parts of the country. “We are monitoring the situation...and, if required, we are ready to evacuate [the Indians],” Jaiswal said.

The proposal to set up a transitional council has run into rough weather because of squabbling among Haitian politicians and parties over the body’s leadership. Leaders of CARICOM states revealed plans to form the council following a meeting in Jamaica on Monday that was attended by US secretary of state Antony Blinken. Haiti’s Prime Minister Henry has promised to step down as soon as the council is established.

The transitional arrangement is expected to pave the way for a peaceful transition of power, an action plan for restoring security, and the holding of free and fair elections.

On February 29, the criminal gangs carried out attacks on Haiti’s state institutions, police stations, the international airport and two largest prisons, freeing more than 4,000 prisoners. Scores of people died in the attacks and more than 15,000 were left homeless.

According to the website of the Indian embassy in the Dominican Republic, the Indian community in Haiti comprises about 100 members. They include professionals such as doctors, engineers, technicians and many missionaries. Some of the Indians are engaged in private businesses, such as the scrap metal trade.