Author Mitch Albom, 9 others evacuated by helicopter from violence-torn Port-au-Prince

DETROIT (AP) — Author and Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom and nine others have been rescued by helicopter from Haiti after becoming stranded in the poverty-stricken and violence-torn Caribbean nation while visiting an orphanage.

The group was forced to shelter inside the Have Faith Haiti Mission & Orphanage in Port-au-Prince, Albom said Tuesday in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“A group of us from Have Faith Haiti, including my wife and myself, were evacuated overnight from Haiti, where we had been sheltering in place since a state of emergency was declared,” he wrote.

Heavily armed gangs seized power in much of the nation’s capitol following the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise and now control about 80% of the city. Murder, rape and robberies have become commonplace as gang members battle what’s left of the nation’s beleaguered police and military.

Earlier this month, Haiti’s main international airport closed after gangs tried to seize it. Thousands of inmates also were freed when gangs overran two prisons.

U.S. Rep. Lisa McClain, a Republican from Bruce Township in southeastern Michigan, helped arrange this week’s rescue from the orphanage after being alerted by a constituent to the group’s predicament. McClain contacted U.S. Rep. Cory Mills, a Florida Republican and U.S. Army veteran, who devised a plan to evacuate the group.

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