Travel Warning on Haiti Updated

Agent-x - July 2 2012, 3:52 PM

According to gocaribbean.about-com on 2 July 2012, Travel Warning on Haiti Updated.

On June 15, the U.S. Embassy in Haiti issued an emergency message to U.S. citizens noting that embassy personnel had been directly involved in or closely witnessed violent criminal activity within the past two weeks

The overall outlook for Haiti may be improving -- the much-beset Caribbean nation even is starting to market to tourists again -- but the U.S. State Department continues to warn that Haiti can be a very dangerous place for visitors, especially the capital Port-au-Prince.

"These incidents should serve as a reminder of Haiti's crime environment and the reality that crime can happen anywhere, at anytime, to anyone," according to the notice.

A few days later, the State Department updated its standing warning about travel to Haiti.

"Hundreds of thousands of Americans safely visit Haiti each year, but the poor state of Haiti's emergency response network should be carefully considered when planning travel," the warning notes.

"Travelers to Haiti are encouraged to use organizations that have solid infrastructure, evacuation, and medical support options in place.

"U.S. citizens have been victims of violent crime, including murder and kidnapping, predominately in the Port-au-Prince area. No one is safe from kidnapping, regardless of occupation, nationality, race, gender, or age. In recent months, travelers arriving in Port-au-Prince on flights from the United States were attacked and robbed shortly after departing the airport.

At least two U.S. citizens were shot and killed in such incidents.

Haitian authorities have limited capacity to deter or investigate such violent acts, or prosecute perpetrators."

Even U.S. Embassy personnel are under a curfew in Port-au-Prince between midnight and 5 a.m., and while cholera rates have declined, the water-borne illness is still prevalent in many parts of the country, according to the State Department.

gocaribbean.about.com/b/2012/07/02/travel-warning-on-haiti-updated-2.htm

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