Marines guarding the U.S. embassy in Haiti traded gunfire with “suspected” Haitian gang members this week, the Marine Corps said on Saturday, 

The shootout, first reported by the Washington Post, happened on the evening of Thursday, Nov. 13. Marines who were “supporting embassy security operations were fired upon by suspected gang members in Port-au-Prince,” Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Steven Keenan said in a statement to Task & Purpose. The Marines then returned fire. No Marines were injured. 

The Marine Corps did not provide any details on what led to the shootout, how long it lasted or if any of the Haitians who attacked were wounded or killed. 

“U.S. Marines are committed to the safety and security of U.S. embassies worldwide and respond to all threats with professionalism and swift, disciplined action,” Keenan added.

The Marine Corps directed questions for additional information to the State Department, which did not immediately respond to queries from Task & Purpose. The gunfight outside the American embassy happened during ongoing clashes in the capital city, as police fought Haitian gang members in Port-au-Prince’s outlying neighborhoods.

Haiti has long suffered from political instability and gang violence, particularly in the wake of the devastating 2010 earthquake that killed more than 100,000 people. The security and political situation in the country has deteriorated since President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in his home in 2021. The country has been in a state of emergency since March 2024; the State Department’s travel advisory for the country warns not to travel to Haiti “due to kidnapping, crime, terrorist activity, civil unrest, and limited health care.” In 2024 the Marine Corps deployed members of a fleet anti-terrorism security team to the embassy in Port-au-Prince to shore up defenses there during a wave of violence in the capital. 

At the end of August this year, a new contingent of Marines arrived in Port-au-Prince to rotate in for embassy security. 

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