Taiwan's Haiti embassy no immediate plan to evacuate nationals: MOFA

Taipei, March 11 (CNA) Taiwan's embassy in Haiti has no immediate plan to evacuate Taiwanese nationals from the Caribbean ally though it does have contingencies in place in case evacuation becomes necessary amid escalating violence in that country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Monday.

MOFA's statement was released in response to a CNA inquiry whether Taiwan has plans to evacuate diplomatic staff and Taiwanese citizens in Haiti after the United States, Germany and the European Union all decided to do so after the latest round of violence in the Caribbean country.

The violence broke out in late February while Prime Minister Ariel Henry was visiting Kenya to push for a United Nations-backed police force to be deployed to fight Haitian gangs.

Since then, Haitian criminal gangs have taken control of much of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and attacked key infrastructure including two prisons where most of the 3,800 inmates escaped.

In the statement, the ministry said Taiwan's embassy in Haiti remains open, and the 24 Taiwanese nationals in Haiti -- comprising embassy staff, technical mission members, businesspeople, and their families -- are safe.

Given the ongoing chaotic situation in Haiti, MOFA said it would be safer for Taiwanese citizens to stay where they are right now instead of evacuating to other places.

It also said that other than the U.S. airlifting non-essential embassy personnel from Haiti and the evacuation of the German ambassador and EU diplomatic staff, all other countries with embassies in Haiti currently do not have immediate evacuation plans.

Taiwan's embassy in Haiti has since 2021 beefed up security, including hiring more private security guards and installing more advanced security system to protect diplomatic staff, MOFA added.

Contingencies are ready in case a decision is made to evacuate citizens from Haiti, the ministry said without elaborating.

MOFA has for the past several years issued its highest-level "red" travel alert for Haiti, one of 12 states that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, due to widespread crime and civil unrest.

Under the ministry's four-tier travel alert system, the lowest level is gray, followed by yellow, orange, and red. A red alert is the highest warning level and advises people to refrain from traveling to the country or region in question.

Haiti declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew last week in response to a deadly surge of gang violence overwhelming its capital, beginning Feb. 29

MOFA said that the ongoing unrest was confined to the center of Port-au-Prince and the city's airport in neighboring Tabarre Commune, around 10 kilometers from Taiwan's embassy.

As Taiwan's embassy is in the suburban Port-au-Prince commune of Pétion-Ville, it has been largely unaffected by the unrest so far, the ministry added.