David L. Wilson of Weekly News Update on the Americas was in Port-au-Prince with a delegation when the Jan. 12 earthquake struck the city. Because of limited electricity and internet access, he was unable to send this report out until after he got back to New York the morning of Jan. 18.:

PORT-AU-PRINCE — Wednesday night, January 13, the second night after a giant earthquake shattered this city, was filled with strange sounds.

From Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Jan. 19:

Port-au-Prince – A Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) cargo plane carrying 12 tons of medical equipment, including drugs, surgical supplies and two dialysis machines, was turned away three times from Port-au-Prince airport since Sunday night despite repeated assurances of its ability to land there. This 12-ton cargo was part of the contents of an earlier plane carrying a total of 40 tons of supplies that was blocked from landing on Sunday morning. Since January 14, MSF has had five planes diverted from the original destination of Port-au-Prince to the Dominican Republic. These planes carried a total of 85 tons of medical and relief supplies.

David L. Wilson of Weekly News Update on the Americas reports from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Jan. 15:

PORT-AU-PRINCE — I finally saw uniformed Haitian police on the street here at about 9 AM two days ago, on Wednesday, more than 16 hours after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake destroyed much of the Haitian capital.

Reports rose Jan. 18 of looting and vigilantism among increasingly desperate earthquake survivors as Port-au-Prince awaits the deployment of more US troops. A 12,000-strong US contingent is expected to arrive by the end of the week, to assist the 3,000 police and some 9,000 troops from the UN force MINUSTAH in the city. The reported lynching of one suspected looter along with shootings have led to an increase in UN patrols. The country's legal system and government are largely non-operational. Some 1,000 US troops have already landed in Haiti, with 3,000 more working from ships. Lt. Gen. Ken Keen of the US Southern Command was cited acknowledging that violence is hindering the aid effort. "We are going to have to address the situation of security," Keen said. (AP, Jurist, Jan. 18; MINUSTAH website)

As paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division took control of the airport in Port-au-Prince, spearheading a force of 10,000 US troops deployed to Haiti, Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega raised fears about a new Yankee occupation of the Caribbean nation. "What is happening in Haiti seriously concerns me," Ortega said Jan. 17. "It seems that the bases [in Latin America] are not sufficient." He added: "There is no logic that US troops [have] landed in Haiti. Haiti seeks humanitarian aid, not troops. It would be madness we all began to send troops to Haiti." Nicaragua has sent 31 military doctors to Haiti, along with shipments of humanitarian aid. (Press TV, Iran, Jan. 17)

Haitian nationals already present in the US when the devastating earthquake hit on Jan. 12 have been granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and will be allowed to continue living and working in the US for the next 18 months regardless of their immigration status, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced Jan. 15. Napolitano said that "[p]roviding a temporary refuge for Haitian nationals who are currently in the United States and whose personal safety would be endangered by returning to Haiti is part of this Administration's continuing efforts to support Haiti's recovery."

David L. Wilson of Weekly News Update on the Americas reports from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Jan. 13:

PORT-AU-PRINCE — Several hundred people had gathered to sing, clap, and pray in an intersection here by 9:00 last night, a little more than four hours after the earthquake had devastated much of the Haitian capital. Another group was singing a block away, on the other side of the Hotel Oloffson, where I was camping out.

As US President Barack Obama sent thousands of troops to help with the rescue efforts in earthquake-stricken Haiti, Gen. Douglas Frazier, head of the Pentagon's Southern Command, indicated that the Naval medical facilities at Guantánamo Bay may be used to help with the relief efforts. Many of the refugees may be temporarily housed at Camp Justice, an area of the base where visitors such as reporters have generally stayed. The US State Department reported Jan. 13 that some injured Americans have already been transported to Guantanamo. (Jurist, Jan. 14)