The U.S. Marines guarding the embassy in Port-au-Prince returned fire after suspected gang members shot at them on Thursday; no Marines were injured. Gangs control roughly 90% of the capital and have displaced more than 1.3 million people. The U.N. has approved a 5,500-strong gang suppression force, while a smaller Kenyan police mission has struggled to contain violence that the U.N. says killed about 5,600 people last year.
Gunfire at U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince: Marines Return Fire as Gang Violence Escalates
The U.S. Marines guarding the embassy in Port-au-Prince returned fire after suspected gang members shot at them on Thursday; no Marines were injured. Gangs control roughly 90% of the capital and have displaced more than 1.3 million people. The U.N. has approved a 5,500-strong gang suppression force, while a smaller Kenyan police mission has struggled to contain violence that the U.N. says killed about 5,600 people last year.
05:43 PM, 11/16/2025Security
Marines Return Fire After Attack Near U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince
A group of suspected Haitian gang members opened fire on American Marines protecting the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince on Thursday, a U.S. Marine spokesman said. Capt. Steven J. Keenan wrote in an email that the Marines returned fire and that no Marines were injured.
Haitian police were not immediately available to comment on the exchange of gunfire. The incident highlights the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Haiti’s capital, where heavily armed gangs now control roughly 90% of Port-au-Prince and routinely extort businesses and battle over territory.
The U.S. continues to operate an embassy in Haiti, though the State Department has repeatedly warned Americans against travel because of kidnappings, violent crime, and civil unrest. According to the United Nations, gang violence has displaced more than 1.3 million Haitians from their homes in recent years.
Haiti’s security decline accelerated after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, which created a political vacuum and delayed national elections. In late September the U.N. Security Council voted to form a gang-suppression force of roughly 5,500 troops to assist in restoring order. A smaller Kenyan police contingent already deployed has struggled to contain violence that the U.N. Human Rights Office reports claimed about 5,600 lives last year.
Why it matters: The shooting underscores both the immediate danger faced by diplomatic personnel and the broader humanitarian and security crisis in Haiti, strengthening calls for international support and a political path toward stability.