Blinken flies to Jamaica for regional talks on Haiti crisis

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed to Jamaica on Monday to attend a Caribbean Community (CARICOM) meeting on Haiti where a collapse in security and a humanitarian crisis in the Caribbean nation has unfolded, the State Department said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed to Jamaica on Monday to attend a Caribbean Community (CARICOM) meeting on Haiti where a collapse in security and a humanitarian crisis in the Caribbean nation has unfolded, the State Department said. Blinken departed from Washington on Monday morning on a trip organized at the last minute as spiraling gang violence threatens to bring down Haiti's government.

On Sunday, the U.S. military airlifted

non-essential personnel and stepped up security at Washington's embassy in Port-au-Prince. The State Department said in a statement that Blinken will discuss a proposal developed by CARICOM and Haitian officials to expedite a political transition in Haiti through the creation of a broad-based, independent presidential college.

Blinken will also discuss the long-awaited deployment of a multinational security mission to restore order in Haiti, which is set to be led by Kenya. The United Nations estimates hundreds of thousands have been displaced and thousands killed in the overall conflict in Haiti, with widespread reports of rape, torture and ransom kidnappings.

Haiti entered a state of emergency on March 3 as clashes damaged communications and led to two prison breaks after gang alliance leader Jimmy Cherizier, alias "Barbeque," called for criminal groups to unite and overthrow Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry. Blinken last week

pressed Henry , who has been stranded outside of the country and was most recently in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, on the urgent need to accelerate a transition to a more inclusive government.

Blinken will also meet with Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness to discuss bilateral and regional issues, the department said.