Communiqué of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba on the return of Cubans in Haiti

he Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba has informed on the return of Cubans in Haiti.

Regarding the issue confirmed that between April 19 and 21, 2024, 248 Cuban citizens who had traveled to the Republic of Haiti for private business were transferred to Cuba. It was an operation coordinated by the Cuban authorities with the support of the Cuban Embassy in Haiti and the permanent accompaniment of officials from our diplomatic mission.

Since the beginning of March, the Cuban Embassy in Haiti has been in close contact with Cuban citizens who were stranded there as a result of the complex political situation in that country. He also communicated with other nationals residing in Haiti, ensuring their safety and addressing their concerns, within the existing possibilities.

At the same time, the population assistance offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Presidency of the Republic assisted the relatives and friends of the aforementioned citizens who established contact, in person or virtually.

The Embassy made systematic arrangements with Sunrise Airways, which transported Cuban citizens to Haiti, with which it agreed to keep open the option of returning them to Cuba on its aircraft, once the conditions were created to do so.

Due to the fact that the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in the city of Port-au-Prince has remained closed, it was not possible to guarantee its departure by that route.

The Cuban authorities waited for the best moment to carry out this operation, in order to guarantee the conditions that would favor a safe return to the homeland. Other alternatives, including heliborne operations, were not feasible due to the high number of people involved.

The Cuban Embassy coordinated the voluntary departure of Cuban citizens by land to the city of Cap-Haitien, where limited international flight operations are maintained.

Finally the Communique  clarified that the Cuban State paid for this unique operation to all stranded Cubans who voluntarily took advantage of this alternative. Our compatriots returned to the national territory through the Ignacio Agramonte International Airport in Camagüey and the Antonio Maceo International Airport in Santiago de Cuba, on 6 flights of the Sunrise Airways airline, which maintained the commitment to transfer Cuban citizens.