Haiti’s prime minister says he will resign amid escalating gang violence

Ariel Henry is in Puerto Rico as Haiti’s political future hangs in the balance, with criminal gangs overrunning much of the capital, Port-au-Prince

Haiti's prime minister Ariel Henry of Haiti at his residence in Port-au-Prince in August  2021. He said he  would step down once a transitional council had been established. Photograph: Victor Moriyama/New York Times
Haiti's prime minister Ariel Henry of Haiti at his residence in Port-au-Prince in August 2021. He said he would step down once a transitional council had been established. Photograph: Victor Moriyama/New York Times

Uncertainty hung over Haiti’s political future on Tuesday after its prime minister said he would step down, a move welcomed by many Haitians exhausted by months of escalating gang violence, but with questions over security still to be settled.

Prime minister Ariel Henry, stranded in Puerto Rico, released a recorded video late on Monday night pledging to resign as soon as a transition council and temporary leader could be chosen.

US officials said on Tuesday that members of the council should be appointed by Wednesday or Thursday, following talks this week in Jamaica between Caribbean leaders and US secretary of state Antony Blinken, who flew in to attend while also pledging an additional $133 million in Haitian security and humanitarian aid.

There were signs in the capital Port-au-Prince of an improvement in the security situation on Tuesday, with the streets quiet and no attacks on government offices or police stations reported.

READ MORE

The main CPS cargo port had reopened, local news outlet Nouvelliste reported. The capital’s airport has yet to resume operations, but armed men who had taken control of it were no longer present.

Haiti's unelected prime minister, Ariel Henry, has announced that he will step down once a transition council and temporary replacement have been appointed.

Meanwhile, some fuel from the Varreux facility near the port had been allowed out.

But, in a potential setback, a senior Kenyan diplomatic official told Reuters that plans to deploy its police officers to Haiti to lead a UN-backed security mission were on pause pending “a clear indication” that a new interim government was in place.

The long-delayed mission is intended to boost outgunned local police and restore order in Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation.

Earlier on Tuesday, helicopters landed at the Karibe Hotel, which is used by international visitors, including from the United Nations, and from where a source told Reuters that people were being evacuated. The identity of those being evacuated could not immediately be established.

UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said the international body was “considering reducing the footprint of non-essential personnel” but that it was not exiting Haiti.

Mr Henry had led the Caribbean country since the assassination of president Jovenel Moïse in 2021. In late February, he traveled to Kenya to secure its support for the security mission.

Mr Henry (74) was appointed prime minister by Mr Moïse just before the late president was shot in his Port-au-Prince residence. But Mr Henry was never elected and had repeatedly postponed elections, arguing that security should first be restored.

Many Haitians angrily protested his continued rule and Washington had called on Mr Henry to accelerate plans for free and fair elections.

“The government that I’m leading will resign immediately after the installation of [a transition] council,” said Mr Henry in the late-night video. “I’m asking all Haitians to remain calm and do everything they can for peace and stability to come back as fast as possible.”

‘Barbecue’: the violent warlord calling the shots in Haiti’s slumsOpens in new window ]

Following his announcement, some Haitians celebrated, dancing in the streets of the capital while setting off fireworks, according to videos shared on social media.

The talks in Jamaica on Monday stretched across more than seven hours and involved nearly 40 Haitian stakeholders, and culminated when Mr Blinken struck a deal with regional body Caricom on the makeup of the transitional council, according to a US State Department official.

The council is set to include a religious leader, a civil society representative and members from various political and business sectors, but specific appointments have not yet been made.

A US official said the Haitian factions have 24 hours to inform Caricom who will represent them on the council.

The council will be tasked with appointing an interim prime minister and establishing a provisional electoral council to facilitate elections, which would be Haiti’s first since 2016 and will likely be contingent on an improvement in the security situation.

Heavily armed gangs dramatically expanded their wealth, influence and territorial control during Mr Henry’s time in office.

Haiti, a former French colony with a long history of political instability, declared a state of emergency earlier this month as clashes led to two mass prison breaks, with the country’s most powerful gang leader, Jimmy “Barbeque” Chérizier, threatening to overthrow Mr Henry.

- Reuters