Marines guarding the U.S. Embassy in Haiti exchanged gunfire with “suspected” Haitian gang members this week, the Marine Corps said Saturday:
The shooting, first reported by the Washington Post, occurred on the evening of Thursday, November 13. Marines who were “supporting embassy security operations came under fire from suspected gang members in Port-au-Prince,” Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Steven Keenan said in a statement to Task & Purpose. The Marines then returned fire. No Marines were injured.
The Marine Corps has not provided any details on what led to the shooting, how long it lasted or whether any of the Haitians who attacked were injured or killed.
“U.S. Marines are committed to the safety and security of U.S. embassies around the world and respond to all threats with professionalism and rapid, disciplined action,” Keenan added.
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The Marine Corps referred questions for additional information to the State Department, which did not immediately respond to Task & Purpose’s questions. The shooting outside the US embassy occurred during ongoing clashes in the capital, as police battled Haitian gang members in outlying neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince.
Haiti has long suffered from political instability and gang violence, particularly following the devastating 2010 earthquake that killed more than 100,000 people. The security and political situation in the country has deteriorated since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse at his home in 2021. The country has been in a state of emergency since March 2024; the State Department’s travel advisory for the country warns not to travel to Haiti “due to kidnapping, crime, terrorist activity, civil unrest, and limited health care.” In 2024, the Marine Corps deployed members of a fleet counterterrorism security team to the embassy in Port-au-Prince to bolster defenses there during a wave of violence in the capital.
At the end of August this year, a new contingent of Marines arrived in Port-au-Prince to provide security for the embassy.
