Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry landed in Puerto Rico on Tuesday after days of speculation of his whereabouts as his country continues to be ravaged by gang violence.
The Puerto Rican Governor's spokesperson Sheila Angleró Mojica confirmed to CNN that Henry's plane landed in the American Caribbean territory as Port-au-Prince was besieging its international airport. She also insisted that she did not have any additional details on the matter, but added that "federal agents from the [US Customs and Border Protection] are in charge,".
Since last week, Port-au-Prince has been gripped by a wave of highly coordinated gang attacks on law enforcement and state institutions that razed police stations and released thousands of inmates from at least two prisons, in what one gang leader described as an attempt to overthrow Henry's government.
DR Blocks Borders with Haiti
The violence erupted while Henry was in Kenya to sign an agreement underpinning a Kenyan-led mission of 1,000 police officers to Haiti to restore law and order.
The Haitian government declared a state of emergency over the weekend in response to the escalating violence in the country.
Earlier statements from the United Nations indicate that 15,000 individuals have been compelled to evacuate their residences in the capital, further exacerbating the existing displacement of over 300,000 individuals due to gang-related violence. On the other hand, the neighboring Dominican Republic has suspended all cargo and passenger flights to and from Haiti.
Dominican President Luis Abinader said on Monday that a heightened level of security was in effect on his country's border with Haiti and that any escaped Haitian prisoner trying to cross the border would face "a drastic response."
Meanwhile, aid groups were scrambling to help residents of Port-au-Prince, with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) saying that it would scale up its activities in the city to care for the "mounting number" of injured people.
"The violence has taken on a new dimension since last weekend, causing a massive number of casualties," MSF said in a statement on Tuesday.
However, the group struggled to provide care to Haitians, as the country's main port and international airport were both inaccessible.
"We fear we will run out of medicines and medical supplies, which are absolutely essential to meet the enormous needs we are facing at the moment," Haiti MSF head Mumuza Muhindo Musubah said in a statement.
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