Over 100 Haitian nationals were repatriated from the Bahamas to their homeland Friday, as Hubert Minnis’ administration lifted the temporary suspension of deporting illegal Haitian migrants from the country.
The government announced Thursday that the deportations would resume as it was believed that the situation in Haiti was improving. Friday morning, 112 Haitians left the island of New Providence aboard the national airline Bahamasair.
This was the second flight of this nature since the start of the year, with the first taking place Jan. 14, when 45 Haitians were sent home.
In a statement, the Ministry of Immigration of the Bahamas said the 112 deported Haitians included the 18 survivors of a boat that sank off the coast of the island of Abaco on Feb. 16, the 64 Haitian migrants recently apprehended in the Exumas and 30 people arrested in New Providence.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed that after consultations, the diplomatic and consular staff of the Bahamian Embassy in Port-au-Prince on Friday resumed their diplomatic and regular consular duties and officials would continue to monitor the situation on the ground.
Last week, the government temporarily ceased all deportations to Haiti as a result of the political unrest in the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.
Opposition political parties in Haiti have been staging street demonstrations in support of their calls for President Jovenel Moïse to step down, after accusing him of not investigating allegations of corruption in the previous government over PetroCaribe, an oil alliance of many Caribbean states with Venezuela to purchase oil on conditions of preferential payment.