PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti (CMC) –  Security was reinforced at the Embassy of the United States in Haiti on Sunday, as heavily armed gangs continue to spread terror across this French speaking Caribbean Community (Caricom) member state.

In a statement early Sunday, the US State Department said Marines who were sent to reinforce security are also in the process of evacuating non-essential personnel.

The operation was carried out with a helicopter at the request of the State Department.

“This airlift of personnel into and out of the embassy is consistent with our standard practice for embassy security augmentation worldwide and no Haitians were on board the military aircraft,” said the United States Southern Command in a statement.

This airlift comes amid ongoing gang attacks in several locations around the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, including in Tabarre, where the US embassy is located. Several neighbouring businesses were recently looted and stormed by armed gangs who now control more than 80 per cent of Port-au-Prince.

Meanwhile, even as the US Embassy remains open, the State Department said that heightened gang violence in the neighbourhood near US embassy compounds and near the airport led to the decision to arrange for the departure of additional embassy personnel.