Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he has authorized rescue flights to help missionaries get out of Haiti, as political turmoil and gang violence there has put many American missionaries is harm’s way.

“I have authorized rescue flights like we did in Israel after the October 7th (Hamas attacks) because we’ve got a lot of folks who are part of Christian missionary groups and they do things to try to actually help a very troubled country,” DeSantis said in an interview with Fox News.

DeSantis emphasized that the missionaries are “doing good work” but now need help to get out of the country.

“We don’t want to say anything too publicly about what exactly we are doing . . . because it’s a very dicey situation,” DeSantis said. “But we do feel an obligation to go in and help Florida citizens who were caught in the crossfire of a very difficult situation.”

DeSantis’ words come at a critical time for missionaries as Haiti faces a growing crisis. According to the United Nations (UN), gangs kidnapped, killed, or injured more than 8,400 people in Haiti in 2023. Now, gangs control about 80% of Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince, the UN said. Additionally, the nation’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry recently announced his resignation in a video.

Many airports in Haiti have shut down, limiting the ways for Americans to leave the country. Missionaries from across the United States are seeking ways to get out to safety.

Miriam Cinotti was stranded in Haiti eight days after her mission trip’s original departure date, according to the Miami Herald. She was just rescued this Sunday.

Cinotti was able to leave the country through a “risky” rescue mission led by a nonprofit, called Project Dynamo, in the middle of the night. She said she was driven from Haiti to the neighboring country, the Dominican Republic.

“It was a process of waiting for the pickup to happen,” she said. “It is what it is. You’re at the mercy of someone coming to rescue you, so you sit and wait.”

Cinotti was rescued along with Linotte Joseph, the co-founder of Mission of Grace, a Christian organization based in Florida. Their latest trip to Haiti sought to help build a new home for children.

As of Tuesday, Cinotti said she and Joseph are still in the Dominican Republic waiting for Project Dynamo to rescue two other members of their group before they all head back to Florida.

It’s unclear when that rescue mission will be completed, she said. “Our hope is to leave sometime today or tonight,” Cinotti added.

Joseph told CNN that through Mission of Grace, she has worked in the country for more than a decade. Cinotti added that she travels to Haiti multiple times a year, often for weeks at a time, for mission work.

Both women said they were relieved to have evacuated, but they worry about others who are still trapped.

Project Dynamo has received more than 100 rescue requests from Americans in Haiti, said co-founder and CEO Bryan Stern in an interview with CNN.

“What we find is, every time we rescue one person, that actually turns into three or four or five. That’s usually how it works,” Stern said. “It is very hard.”

Stern added that the Florida-based organization has focused on trying to get out Americans who are in remote areas. He added, “We’ve been working day and night.”

The U.S. State Department is slowly working to evacuate Americans from Haiti. On Sunday, a charter flight carrying dozens of U.S. citizens landed in Miami, U.S. State Department officials told The AP News.

The flight departed from the less chaotic northern city of Cap-Haïtien, where the State Department is offering limited charter. However, officials said they could not provide ground transportation to Cap-Haïtien and that U.S. citizens should consider the charter flights “only if you think you can reach Cap-Haïtien airport safely,” according to The AP News.

Many American citizens are still trapped in the country, including missionary Jill Dolan.

Dolan and her husband have worked as missionaries in Haiti since October 2013, according to their website. They have served the country through the ministry Love a Neighbor and their sending church, Camano Chapel in Washington state.

Earlier this month, Dolan and four of the couple’s adopted children got trapped while trying to leave the country, a family member announced on Love a Neighbor’s Facebook page. The family was planning to leave Haiti to attend Dolan’s biological daughter’s wedding in Florida. Then, gangs took over the airport to which the Dolans were headed.

“Flights have been canceled since then, forcing them to stay in a small hotel where they can hear gunshots as the massive gang violence to oust the prime minister continues all over the city,” the unnamed family member said.

“All roads in and out of the capital are closed as well, so they can’t even return to their ministry home on the western Haitian peninsula, where they operate a health clinic, orphanage and an old age home in a mountain village,” the post explained.

The family member said that Dolan’s husband and son were already in the U.S. when the unrest erupted in Haiti. “But of course they are living the drama as well,” the family member added.

Dolan told the New York Post that she has been in touch with the U.S. Embassy and is seeking ways to get out.

“My fear is that we will be caught in the middle of something really dangerous. We’re already on the front lines of it, we’re in a bad area,” Dolan said. “It’s kind of depressing. The gunfire never stops.”

Freelance journalist Liz Lykins writes for WORLD Magazine, Christianity Today, Ministry Watch, and other publications.