Washington, DC - Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Mari Carmen Aponte will travel to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, October 16-17, to appraise U.S. government humanitarian assistance to the Haiti-led response to communities affected by Hurricane Matthew. Marcela Escobari, Assistant Administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean, will accompany Acting Assistant Secretary Aponte to survey areas impacted by the storm as well as USAID’s Disaster Assistance Response Team relief efforts in the field.

Acting Assistant Secretary Aponte will meet with Government of Haiti officials and other stakeholders to reaffirm U.S. government support for transparent, credible, and peaceful elections in Haiti as well as completion of the electoral cycle at the earliest possible date permitted by conditions on the ground.