Ron DeSantis pledges help for American missionaries trapped in Haiti

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Tuesday, March 19, 2024

As many American missionaries seek to be evacuated from Haiti after getting trapped there amid political turmoil and escalating violence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he has authorized rescue flights to help missionaries get out of the troubled Caribbean nation.

“I have authorized rescue flights like we did in Israel after the October 7th (Hamas attacks) because we’ve got a lot of folks who are part of Christian missionary groups and they do things to try to actually help a very troubled country,” said DeSantis on Friday in an interview on Fox News with host Sean Hannity.

“They really are doing good work, they need to get out, so we are working on that,” DeSantis said. “We don't want to say anything too public about what exactly we are doing because it's a very dicey situation, but we do feel an obligation to go in and help Florida citizens who were caught in the crossfire of a very difficult situation.”

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DeSantis’ actions come at a critical time for missionaries from Florida, Miriam Cinotti, a Jacksonville bakery owner, and Linotte Joseph, a South Florida local, who work with Mission of Grace and shared how they've been surviving since they got trapped in Haiti.

“We got here Feb. 23, we had a reservation to leave on March 8, and they canceled our reservation, so we’re still here,” Joseph told 7 News Miami.

The missionaries were expected to leave Haiti after helping to build a new home for children but since Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced he would resign earlier this month amid growing unrest things have taken a turn for the worse in Haiti.

“We called the embassy, and they advised us to stay safe where we are. But they don’t promise anything,” Joseph said.

In July 2023, the U.S. State Department re-issued a Level 4 travel advisory for Haiti asking Americans not to travel to the Caribbean nation. The advisory ordered all U.S. citizens and non-emergency government employees to leave as soon as possible.

"Do not travel to Haiti due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and poor health care infrastructure. On July 27, the Department of State ordered the departure of family members of U.S. government employees and non-emergency U.S. government employees. U.S. citizens in Haiti should depart Haiti as soon as possible by commercial or other privately available transportation options, in light of the current security situation and infrastructure challenges," the advisory said. "U.S. citizens wishing to depart Port-au-Prince should monitor local news and only do so when considered safe."

A spokesperson from the U.S. State Department told 7 News Miami that they don't have plans to evacuate anyone.

“We always plan for all sorts of contingencies, but no, we are not planning, we are not actively planning for any evacuation,” the spokesperson said.

It was noted, however, that the U.S. would be deploying a Marine anti-terrorism team to Haiti to keep Americans in the country safe and secure.

Cinotti told CNN that where they are located in Haiti, they need to arrange for two commercial flights to get out of the country so that makes their situation a bit more challenging.

“We looked on to see if there are flights available even in a week and there’s no flights, so we’ve reached out to our senators, our congressmen. We are all from Florida. And they have a program, and they are trying to get us out and we are all just waiting to hear,” she said.

Joseph said even if she is rescued, she will still worry for the people in her ministry she’ll be leaving behind.

“I’m afraid because even if I get a chance to go back home, I will still leave over 300 children and staff at the orphanage where food and medication is hard to find because right now things are very short. Gas, food, medication … it’s a big mess,” she said, urging Americans to see the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Haiti.

“It’s a humanitarian cause,” she insisted. “It’s the violence, the gangs, politics, but people need to set all that apart. See those kids are dying, the elderly in the street, the innocent people who’s falling every day.”