U.S. Evacuates Some Americans From Haiti As Official Describes Violence Like ‘Mad Max’

The U.S. has begun evacuating some Americans trapped in Haiti amid one of the country’s worst periods of political unrest, but hundreds more have asked the State Department for assistance as gangs continue to control larges swaths of the nation’s capital.

Vedant Patel, a spokesperson for the State Department, described the ongoing situation in Haiti Tuesday as “dire,” but that government-sponsored flights had ferried some citizens to the nearby Dominican Republic. Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, has erupted in gang violence in recents weeks that has prompted the shutdown of the city’s airport and cut off its main port from receiving food and supplies. Thousands of inmates were freed amid attacks on prisons and more than 15,000 Haitians have been forced from their homes amid the unrest.

The violence has spread to some of the capital’s wealthier areas in recent days, The Guardian reported, and Patel said the situation remained fluid and was changing on a day-by-day basis.

Nearly 1,000 Americans have registered with the embassy via its crisis intake form in recent weeks, although the State Department stressed not all of those people were hoping to leave the country.

“Not everyone who registers with this form or contacts us necessarily is requesting departure assistance,” Patel said. “Some just want to stay in touch with the embassy; some just want to see what information we have to share with them, advice on how they may be able to remain safely, and to potentially stay in touch if they choose to potentially depart in the future.

Axios notes the first charter flight from Haiti organized by the U.S. government landed in Miami on Sunday with more than 30 people aboard. Flights have been able to leave the city of Cap-Haïtien,