Haitian Americans Return

Haitian American passengers arrive at Miami Airport, in Florida, on a flight chartered by the US State Department.

The flight departed from Haiti's port city of Cap-Haitien, where the airport has been open "periodically," according to the US embassy.

Negotiations to form a transitional council to govern Haiti advanced, as the United States airlifted more citizens to safety from gang violence that has plunged the impoverished country into chaos.

Haiti has been rocked by a surge of unrest since February when armed groups raided a prison, releasing thousands of inmates, as they demanded Prime Minister Ariel Henry resign.

Last week Henry agreed to step down and allow the formation of an interim government, but negotiations have been slow despite pressure from neighboring Caribbean countries and the United States.

A Haitian government source said that names for the council had yet to have been given to outgoing prime minister Henry as talks among political parties and others dragged on.

President Jovenel Moise, who appointed Henry, was assassinated in 2021 and never replaced. The council would name an interim prime minister to oversee the country's first elections since 2016.

Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince has been overrun by armed groups for weeks, with many police stations, power stations, public buildings and facilities attacked, and dead bodies left strewn in the street.

Intense clashes and shooting erupted in the Petion-Ville suburb of the capital, according to residents, with locals barricading roads to protect themselves and stop gang access.

A nighttime curfew was extended until Saturday in the Ouest department, which includes the capital, the government said.

The violence has exacerbated an already grim humanitarian situation, with warnings of famine, malnutrition and the collapse of basic services.