Floridians rescued from Haiti: Gov. DeSantis says children, families aboard jet that landed in Sanford
SANFORD, Fla. - More than a dozen Floridians are back home after being rescued from Haiti.
A plane carrying 14 Sunshine State residents landed at Orlando Sanford International Airport on Wednesday night via an emergency flight coordinated by the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
Governor Ron DeSantis said this is the first rescue mission from Haiti with evacuees who were otherwise unable to return home due to the ongoing political crisis in Haiti.
"This is the second time that Florida has stepped up to ensure that Americans have a way out of an unstable political situation abroad," said Governor Ron DeSantis. "I am proud of the work we have done to get Floridians home and reunite them with their families. We will also continue to dedicate resources to prevent the flow of illegal immigrants from reaching our shores while the situation in Haiti deteriorates."
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"It took a couple of tries. They didn’t give up. They stayed with us until the end of the mission," said Phillipe Armand, one of the evacuees.
He added that the journey wasn’t easy.
Pictured: Phillipe Armand and family.
"The biggest stress was dealing with little kids," Armand shared. "Not adults. It made it more stressful on the parents".
They were supposed get out of Haiti three days ago, but the danger was too high.
"The biggest hurdle was getting transportation to the city," Armand explained. "There were many barricades. Main roads are closed off. Side roads are closed off because of what is going on. Every neighborhood is trying to protect themselves and limit outsiders. It’s very hard to go to the airport to fly out".
Florida Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie says 378 Floridians are trying to make it home, but it’s a dangerous mission.
A plane carrying 14 Floridians landed in Sanford on Wednesday night.
"There are a lot of challenges in Haiti right now. I would say it’s worse than a war zone. Easier to get people in and out of Israel than in and out of Haiti," Guthrie said.
He added, "our helicopter got surrounded at the airport. After we dumped everyone off and into the plane, they tried to surround the helicopter. They had to take off".
But now, the 14 people rescued on Wednesday will enjoy the safety of being home.
"Everyone made it safe and sound. We are grateful and appreciate all the hard work," Armand said.
Haiti is being overrun with gang violence. Gangs have reportedly been responsible for raiding some of the nation's largest prisons and freeing thousands of inmates.
File: Unrest in Haiti
DeSantis has been trying to dissuade refugees from fleeing to Florida. The governor previously announced that he'd directed more than 250 additional officers and soldiers from the Florida State Guard, Division of Emergency Management, and other state law enforcement agencies to southern Florida and the Keys to stop Haitian migrants from arriving on shore.
"The last thing we're looking to do is to fly anybody you know here that doesn't belong here," shared DeSantis on Wednesday.
PREVIOUS: UN report finds Haitian gangs armed with Florida’s guns, FBI arrests Floridians for gun smuggling
Haiti's prime minister resigned after gangs overran the capital of Port-au-Prince. The main airport in Port-au-Prince was also ransacked and has been closed following gang attacks.
When DeSantis was asked about the UN report that revealed how Haitian gangs are armed with Florida's guns, he stated that it was an issue for the federal government.
File: Unrest in Haiti
"In terms of what is going into the country from the United States, that's something that is the federal government's responsibility," responded DeSantis.
READ: Governor Ron DeSantis deploys hundreds of officers to stave off potential influx of Haitian refugees
According to the governor, the ports that are controlled by the state of Florida are capable of intercepting illegal activities.
"We intercepted a vessel that had 25 people coming from Haiti that had drugs and had firearms, and those folks were stopped before they reached our shores," shared DeSantis.
DeSantis said that the state is willing to continue dedicating resources to rescue efforts that help Floridians who are stuck in Haiti.
"We're going to do everything within our power to be able to bring more and more Floridians back to safety," said DeSantis.
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