ORLANDO, Fla. — A few dozen U.S. citizens arrived in Florida last night and are waking up safer Monday morning because of it, after fleeing the escalating gang violence in Haiti over the weekend.

What You Need To Know

  • More than 30 U.S. citizens were flown out of Haiti on a U.S. government-charter flight Sunday night

  • The State Department announced a limited amount of opportunities would be available for Americans to get out of the country due to rising gang violence

  • Government officials in Miami were helping the newly arrived evacuees to determine their next step

  • Florida has a large number of residents who were born in Haiti

A U.S. government-chartered flight landed safely in Miami on Sunday night after the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince urged U.S. citizens to leave “as soon as possible” and the State Department announced that only limited charter flights would be available to help Americans get out of the country.

Haiti’s main airport in Port-au-Prince remains closed following gang attacks that have raged through Haiti in recent weeks, pushing many people to the brink of famine. Government and aid agencies this weekend reported looting of aid supplies as the situation worsened.

Sunday's charter flights departed from the less chaotic northern city of Cap-Haïtien. Officials said they could not provide ground transportation to Cap-Haïtien and that U.S. citizens should consider the charter flights “only if you think you can reach Cap-Haïtien airport safely.” 

People taking the U.S. government-coordinated flights must sign a promissory bill agreeing to reimburse the government.

“We encourage U.S. citizens still in Haiti who seek to depart to contact the Department of State using the crisis intake form on our website if they have not already done so,” the agency said.

The State Department said government officials in Miami were helping the newly arrived evacuees to determine their next steps.

Last week, Central Florida Haitian American leaders gathered to discuss the state of their home country, and how to help civilians in Haiti caught in the crossfire. Local leaders say they have been encouraging people to use resources like WhatsApp to keep a point of contact with family members in Haiti, as efforts to send resources have become more difficult with the chaos.

According to CNN, Florida is home to more than 200,000 people born in Haiti.

Local leaders shared during a town hall last week that while this violence is not new, they’re remaining optimistic about peace and change in Haiti.

“What we want to see and what everyone would like to see is an end to the violence, and a rebuild of Haiti to get a stable government and to be able to have sustainability as a nation” said Jean Perpillant, the president and chairman of the Greater Haitian American Chamber of Commerce in Orlando.

One passenger on Sunday’s flight, Marie Lucie St. Fleur, 69, of West Palm Beach, said she feels most at home in Haiti and it pains her to see what her homeland is enduring.

“I don’t feel well at all. I would like to live in my country and I can’t,” she said, while sitting in a wheelchair.

Last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that he was sending extra resources to South Florida in preparation for a potential influx of people from Haiti.

As of last week, the U.S. Coast Guard said it repatriated 65 migrants to Haiti near the Bahamas and that there has not been a significant increase in migrants from Haiti in recent weeks.