Florida-Based Rescue Group Evacuates Americans From Haiti

A man with his face covered calls on demonstrators to stop during a protest against Prime Minister Ariel Henry's government in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on March 1, 2024. (Ralph Tedy Erol/Reuters)

With hundreds of Americans stranded in Haiti calling for help, a Florida-based rescue team led by military veterans is answering the call.

Project Dynamo, headquartered in Tampa, was co-founded by veterans Bryan Stern and Stanley Bunner in response to the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, where hundreds of American citizens and U.S. allies were left behind.

“Project DYNAMO operates in ‘The Grey Space’ where the U.S. government is not. This means, when the government is unable or unwilling to provide assistance, DYNAMO responds & deploys,” its website reads.

Mr. Stern confirmed to The Epoch Times that Project Dynamo had conducted a rescue mission in Haiti on March 18.

“It was our biggest one so far,” he said.

“It was by air, land, and sea ... a multidimensional operation” through which several Americans were rescued, he said.

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“We aren’t disclosing how many because things are ongoing and very dangerous, and the bad guys are really smart.”

Although much of the current rescue effort and media attention are focused on the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, Mr. Stern said people are trapped across the country.

“There are people all over Haiti,” he said. “So, when you talk about rescues, it’s not always about the ‘where it’s violent’ part. It’s about the ‘who’s in trouble’ part, and sometimes those are not always the same.”

Mr. Stern said there are lots of resources in Port-au-Prince, but there were no resources for the people they recently rescued, who were in another part of the country.

“Geographically, they were closer to Cuba than Port-au-Prince, in the middle of nowhere. We flew a plane to where they were and extracted them that way. From there, we went to a midpoint. From there, we took a boat, and from there, we chartered a bus,” he said. “The bus took us to the Dominican Republic.”

US Position on Rescue Efforts

In a March 16 security alert, the U.S. State Department confirmed that it would try to organize a charter flight out of an airport in the city of Cap-Haitien, an effort that came several months after the embassy issued a warning for Americans to leave the country.

However, the government warned that the “overland trip” from Port-au-Prince to Cap-Haitien is dangerous and that it “cannot provide overland travel from other parts of Haiti.” Therefore, the embassy advised that those who want to go to the Cap-Haitien airport do so only if they can get there safely.

“We continue to work on options for departures out of Port-au-Prince and will let you know about them as soon as we are able to safely and securely arrange them,” the security alert advised further. However, it also informed stranded Americans who want the government’s assistance in evacuating that they “must sign a promissory note agreeing to reimburse the U.S. government for the cost of the flight.”

During a March 19 press briefing, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel was asked about the success of a recent rescue effort conducted by U.S. Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), who has conducted two rescue trips to Haiti and evacuated 23 Americans.

“I’m wondering if that is something that was coordinated with the State Department, if it’s an action that you support,” a reporter asked Mr. Patel.

While the administration is “relieved when any American citizen is able to make its way to safety,” Mr. Patel said, “operations like these that are sort of done deviating from formal State Department operations, they can be high-risk.”

“We’re talking about a country that’s been a Level 4 Do Not Travel country since 2020,” he said.

“And so, we want to make sure that we are not—that actions that are taken are not further inciting additional risk or putting individuals into harm’s way.”

He also noted that an operation conducted by the State Department over the weekend “was able to facilitate the safe departure of over 30 U.S. citizens.”

The U.S. State Department reported that nearly 1,000 Americans had filled out a “crisis intake form” seeking assistance to leave Haiti.

Government Rescue Operations

Mr. Stern said there’s an “important nuance” regarding the government’s rescue efforts.

“There’s not a lack of ability,” he said. “America has the biggest Air Force in the world. We can see golf balls from outer space. One American aircraft carrier has more firepower than most countries have in totality. So, it’s not a lack of capability problem. It’s a choice. Whether it’s a good idea or a bad idea, it’s a policy decision.”

As for the U.S. State Department’s making Americans promise to reimburse the government for their rescue, Mr. Stern said he thinks it’s “a little strange.”

He said Project Dynamo has conducted 610 missions in the past 2 1/2 years and rescued nearly 7,000 people, and that none of them have been expected to pay.

Every time a new rescue mission is necessary, he said, the scenario is always the same.

“The embassy evacuates and leaves behind a bunch of Americans and they say, ‘Yeah, you should have left’ or ‘You could have left,’” he said. “It’s the talking point they’re using now, that they should have left a month ago. But that whole concept is a little strange to me. Who cares if you were or weren’t told to leave? The point is, you’re an American citizen and you’re in trouble. We think that means you should get help.”

Mr. Stern told The Epoch Times that he served in both the Army and the Navy.

“The bulk of my career was spent in the intelligence and special operations communities,” he said. “I worked in about 70 countries all over the world, and I’m used to doing weird things in weird places without a lot of support, which is why Project Dynamo is so successful.”

He said the organization’s ability to conduct rescue missions directly correlates to funding.

“Helicopters cost money. Airplanes cost money. Boats cost money,” he said. “We are entirely donor-funded, and I literally don’t even get a thank you note from the government.”