First of Florida's state-sponsored flights for Americans fleeing Haiti lands in Orlando

The first of Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis's state-arranged flights out of Haiti to help Floridians fleeing the chaos in that nation has touched down in Orlando.

Haiti has no effective government following the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry. Earlier this month, gangs stormed the prisons and freed roughly 3,700 inmates, leading to a considerable uptick in violence. The U.S. has urged Americans to leave the country, though many have had difficulty, prompting the governor to organize the flights.

Among the 14 passengers of the first flight were multiple children, Politico reported. The state-arranged flights are free to passengers and only available to U.S. citizens. At least 300 Floridians on the island have signed up through online portal seeking Tallahassee's aid.

"We are willing to dedicate the resources, we understand this is important, we understand that there’s people that are really in danger right now that are our fellow Floridians," the governor said at a press conference.

The effort comes as DeSantis further prepares for an expected uptick in illegal maritime entry into Florida as Haitians seek to flee the country. Earlier this month, he ordered the deployment of more than 250 state personnel to aid federal authorities in dealing with the new arrivals.

The governor announced last week that Florida authorities had seized a vessel carrying 25 Haitian aliens, as well as drugs and firearms, north of Vero Beach.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.