Canada Has Issued A Travel Advisory For This Caribbean Destination Due To A State Of Emergency

The Government of Canada has updated its travel advisories list and has included a new destination that Canadian travellers should "avoid" at all costs.

The Canadian government updates its travel advisories list often, allowing Canadians to make informed decisions while travelling outside of Canada. The federal government has four risk levels which include taking normal security precautions (green light), exercising a high degree of caution (yellow light), avoiding non-essential travel (orange light) and avoiding all travel (red light).

The latest update came in on March 4, 2024, at 11:03 p.m. and the Government of Canada has now issued a red light warning for Canadians to avoid all travel to Haiti.

Per the official travel advice and advisory page, Canadian travellers should avoid all travel to Haiti due to "threats posed by kidnapping, gang violence and the potential for civil unrest throughout the country."

The federal government indicated that the security situation in Haiti remains very "volatile." So much so that Canada is urging all travellers to consider leaving the country by commercial means as soon as possible.

Per the travel advisories page, Haiti issued a state of emergency and curfew in Ouest Department, including in Port-au-Prince, in response to gang violence and the "deteriorating security situation."

The state of emergency is expected to last at least 72 hours until the evening of Wednesday, March 6, 2024. Furthermore, a curfew has also been put in place in Ouest Department daily from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. during the state of emergency.

"You must stay indoors while the curfew is in effect. There are exceptions for certain professions, including medical personnel and journalists carrying official identification," the Canadian government said.

According to the CBC, an attack took place at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport on Monday, March 4, 2024. However, the airport was, in fact, closed at the time, with no passengers present or any flights scheduled to take off.

The CBC said that the airport attack was the biggest one in Haiti's history. "The secretary-general is deeply concerned by the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Port-au-Prince, where armed gangs have intensified their attacks on critical infrastructure over the weekend," said UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

Border closures with the Dominican Republic are also still in effect, per the federal government. In this case, Canadians can only enter and exit Haiti via the Dominican Republic by plane, as sea and land crossings remain closed.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.