Canadian embassy in Port-au-Prince remains open as officials gather in Jamaica for Haiti talks

Canada's embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti remains open Monday as Caribbean leaders meet with officials from the United States, Canada and other countries in Kingston, Jamaica to discuss plans to restore order to the country.

Canada's UN Ambassador Bob Rae is at the meetings. He told CBC News that while the embassy in Haiti is open for now, the security situation on the ground will decide how long that remains the case.

Rae said both the airport and the port in Port-au-Prince remain closed, making it difficult to get supplies and food into the country.

«The power of the gangs has extended and expanded because as much as the Haitian national police has tried to do so, on its own it can't respond in a necessary way to establish order,» he said.

Gangs have attacked and seized most of the Haitian capital in recent weeks. They've laid siege to the airport, government buildings and prisons, enabling thousands of inmates to escape.

The increasingly powerful gangs have been pushing Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign to prevent what they claim is the beginning of a civil war.

Henry, who is also acting president, was sworn in as prime minister with the backing of the international community, including Canada, after the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.

With the airport closed, Henry has been unable to return to his country since Tuesday, leaving the gangs and other armed groups to fill the power gap. The Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, has closed its land border.

Restoring order

According to a statement from the U.S. Department of State, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will also be at the meetings, which were convened by the Conference of the Heads of the Caribbean