Telegraph report on US agenda: Haiti earthquake: US ships blockade coast to thwart exodus to America



A US aircraft carrier is spearheading a blockade of Haiti's waters as America prepares for a mass sea exodus of Haitians with thousands fleeing the devastated capital of Port-au-Prince.



By Bruno Waterfield
19 Jan 2010
http://ping.fm/ewibD


US officials have drawn up emergency plans to cope with a mass migration crisis and have cleared spaces in detention or reception centres, including the Navy base at Cuba's Guantanamo Bay.

The unprecedented air, land and sea operation, dubbed "Vigilant Sentry", was launched as a senior US official compared Haiti's destruction to the aftermath of nuclear warfare.

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"It is the same as if an atomic bomb had been exploded," said Kenneth Merten, America's ambassador to Port-au-Prince, as officials estimated the numbers of those killed by last weeks earthquake to over 200,000.

As well as providing emergency supplies and medical aid, the USS Carl Vinson, along with a ring of other navy and coast guard vessels, is acting as a deterrent to Haitians who might be driven to make the 681 mile sea crossing to Miami.

"The goal is to interdict them at sea and repatriate them," said the US Coast Guard Commander Christopher O'Neil.

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