PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti (CMC) – The United States Department of State has issued a warning against all travel to Haiti with a Level 4  – “Do not travel to Haiti due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and Covid-19″– alert.

In addition, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Level 4 Travel Health Notice for the French speaking Caribbean Community (Caricom) country, indicating a very high level of COVID-19.

In its summary, the State Department noted that among other things, kidnapping is widespread and victims regularly include US citizens.

“Kidnappers may use sophisticated planning or take advantage of unplanned opportunities, and even convoys have been attacked. Kidnapping cases often involve ransom negotiations and US citizen victims have been physically harmed during kidnappings. Victim’s families have paid thousands of dollars to rescue their family members.”

The State Department also warned that violent crime, such as armed robbery and carjacking, is common.

“Travellers are sometimes followed and violently attacked and robbed shortly after leaving the Port-au-Prince international airport. Robbers and carjackers also attack private vehicles stuck in heavy traffic congestion and often target lone drivers, particularly women.

Protests, demonstrations, tire burning, and roadblocks are frequent, unpredictable, and can turn violent.”

The warning also noted that the US government is extremely limited in its ability to provide emergency services to citizens in Haiti – and assistance on site is available only from local authorities – such as the Haitian National Police and ambulance services.

It went on to say that the Haitian police “generally lack the resources to respond effectively to serious criminal incidents.”