It was with great sadness that I learned of the break out of nearly 180 prisoners from the Arcahaie Prison on the coast north Port-au-Prince.
I am saddened by the lost of life of the guard who was killed in the escape, and offer my prayers and thoughts for his family.
Residents of the Turks and Caicos Islands should know that the Ministry of Border Control is monitoring this situation closely.
I have instructed my Permanent Secretary, the Director of Immigration and the Supervisor of our Coastal Radar Department to heighten our alert systems in the Immigration Intelligence Unit, and be more diligent especially as relates to persons coming out of Haiti.
The CRD have also been put on the highest alert, and officers at our ports of entry and all of our permitting agencies, including the Visa Section in the Immigration Department have been asked to heighten their scrutiny of passengers travelling from Haiti and applications for persons from that area, even if it may mean greater delays.
I have spoken to both of our local airlines flying the route to Haiti and parts of the route to other destinations locally and abroad, to assist with our air surveillance of the route during their scheduled flights in the area.
As of this morning I have had conversations with the Premier, who is aware of the situation and in support of the efforts of my Ministry in ensuring that these Islands are not negatively impacted by this still fluid incident.
I have also had telephone conversations with the Consulate of Haiti in the Turks and Caicos Islands to convey our sympathies on the loss of life and ascertain all the necessary information that we might need to assist our efforts here. I expect a follow up call to them again later on today.
