“Barbecue,” a well-known gang boss, had threatened to commit additional violent crimes if Prime Minister Ariel Henry did not resign.
The prime minister of Haiti, a Caribbean nation whose capital has been overrun by brutal gangs, announced his resignation on Tuesday.
Ariel Henry said on Facebook that his administration will dissolve after a week of “systematic looting and destruction of public buildings and private buildings,” pending the formation of a transitional council.
It causes us pain. And we are revolted by it,” Henry said.
Haiti
needs peace, the prime minister said in a call for composure. Stability is needed in Haiti. Sustainable development is necessary for Haiti. Haiti must reconstruct its democratic institutions.
The temporary government’s start date is yet unknown.
The country’s major airport was attacked and there were jail breakouts during the weeks of rising violence that ended with the resignation announcement. It happened on the same day as Caribbean leaders convened in Kingston, Jamaica, for an emergency conference to handle the escalating situation. Interestingly, Henry was not present.
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The discussions, which included Secretary of State Antony Blinken with forty officials from Haiti as well as regional heads of state, went on for seven hours, a senior administration official revealed on Monday night.
The official said that it was decided to have seven members on the transitional council, one of whom would represent the business sector.
Earlier, at a Monday night press conference, Henry’s resignation was announced by Mohamed Irfaan Ali, the president of Guyana and head of the Caricom group.
“We accept Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s resignation, and we have named an interim prime minister and established a transitional presidential council,” he said.
A peaceful transfer of power is made possible, according to Ali, by the establishment of a transitional administration. According to him, the pledge covers near-term security, government continuity, and “the road to free and fair elections.”
Since last week, Henry has been on American territory. Threats at the airport prevented him from landing in Haiti, so he was forced to arrive in Puerto Rico. Protesters had been seen outside the hotel where he is reportedly staying at as the noise level demanding his resignation increased.
A state of emergency was declared across Haiti last weekend after gangs united and launched attacks on government buildings, the airport, and prisons, freeing thousands of detainees.
Jimmy Cherizier, also known as “Barbecue,” the renowned “G9 and Family” gang boss, promised more bloodshed if Henry, who has served as prime minister since 2021, would not resign.
Prior to Monday’s meeting, Blinken said that the United States and the Caricom regional trade group “support a clear political transition plan, led by trusted representatives of Haitian society.” Blinken took a plane to Jamaica for the meeting.
Blinken said on social media on Monday that “Haitians cannot wait any longer for a path to security, stability, and democracy.”
According to Philippe Branchat, the director of the UN International Organization for Migration in Haiti, Port-au-Prince is “under siege” and encircled by armed factions.
One of the poorest nations in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti, has been experiencing a protracted catastrophe.
Based on statistics provided to humanitarian organizations by the NGO Assessment Capacities Project, gangs have taken over nearly 80% of Port-au-Prince’s land area.
The killing of Jovenel Moïse, the president of that country, in July 2021, after an assault on his suburban Port-au-Prince home, did not improve the situation. When he was assassinated, Moïse was trying to hold onto power, and his opponents had charged him with corruption and exceeding his constitutional term limits.
A judge’s final report was released in February, and it included indictments against his wife, Martine Moïse; former prime minister Claude Joseph; and former head of Haiti’s National Police, Léon Charles.
Charles was accused with murder, attempted murder, unlawful gun possession and transportation, criminal association, and conspiracy to undermine state internal security.
Joseph and Martine Moïse are charged with criminal association and collaboration.
Citing abduction, violence, and social turmoil, the U.S. State Department has issued a “do not travel” advice for Haiti and urges Americans to avoid the country.
In January, a group of six Catholic nuns and others were abducted in Haiti. Before being freed, American nurse Alix Dorsainvil and her child were abducted in August and kept prisoner for about two weeks.
A Port-au-Prince area saw the abduction of five priests and two nuns in 2021; they were detained for over three weeks before their release was declared.
