White House says US citizens told not to travel to Haiti, but Americans argue airport, embassy remained open

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The evacuation of U.S. citizens from Haiti remains ongoing, with roughly 1,000 Americans looking to flee the extreme gang violence, though many have questioned why the administration did not move to evacuate Americans sooner.

The Port-au-Prince's Toussaint Louverture International Airport was taken over by armed gangs on March 4 after they first freed thousands of jailed prisoners, many of whom were gang members.

The series of catastrophic incidents occurred while Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry was away attempting to secure a security deal with Kenya that would ensure the timely deployment of 1,000 police officers to Haiti to help quell the gang violence.

AMERICAN FAMILY IN HAITI DESCRIBES ‘WAR ZONE,’ BELIEVES IT WILL FALL TO GANGS IN A WEEK

Many have questioned why the Biden administration did not step in sooner to ensure the safe evacuation of Americans who had become stuck in the rapidly deteriorating situation.

White House national security communications adviser John Kirby pushed back on these questions Wednesday evening, pointing out that the U.S. has long advised Americans not to travel to Haiti.

"I think it’s important to note that we have had a ‘do not travel’ notice and advisory alert to Haiti in place since 2020 precisely because of the ongoing instability caused by the