United States increases weekly deportation flights to Haiti

The United States government has increased the frequency of deportation flights to Haiti, moving from monthly to weekly operations. On Thursday, a flight departing from Louisiana landed in Cap-Haitien with 101 deportees on board.

Among those deported was Renan Hédouville, the former head of Haiti's Office of Citizen Protection, who faces corruption accusations. Human rights activists have criticized the move, noting that some deportees held Temporary Protected Status and were living and working legally in the U.S.

Due to extreme gang violence in Port-au-Prince, which controls an estimated 70% of the capital, deportees are being sent to Cap-Haitien rather than the main international airport. Haiti is currently facing a humanitarian crisis, with gang-related violence displacing approximately 1.5 million people and causing over 3,050 deaths between January and June, according to the United Nations.