Haiti Prime Minister Resigns after weeks of pressure

By Antynet Ford

Haiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry has resigned.

This was announced today by Mohamed Irfaan Ali Guyana’s president and the current chair of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

He tendered his resignation after CARICOM leaders held an emergency summit on the situation in Haiti where gang-led violence amid repeatedly postponed elections has caused chaos.

“We acknowledge his resignation upon the establishment of a transitional presidential council and naming of an interim prime minister,” Ali said, thanking Henry for his “service to Haiti”. Mohamed announced.

Henry, viewed as corrupt by many in Haiti, was not at the summit, which took place behind closed doors. The Associated Press said a spokesman for Henry’s office did not respond to calls seeking comment.

The alliance of gangs, led by Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier, had warned of civil war if Henry, who became prime minister after the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise, did not step down.

Cherizier’s gangs went on the rampage when Henry was out of the country last week seeking to rally support for a Kenya-led foreign police intervention that his government had argued was necessary to restore order so elections could be held.

The prime minister was supposed to step down in February and has been effectively locked out of the country since the unrest spiraled, landing in Puerto Rico last week after being denied entry into the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti.

CARICOM’s Ali said the emergency talks, which took place in Jamaica, were seeking to bring “stability and normalcy” to Haiti, the poorest country in the region.

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken was also at the summit and promised an additional $100m for a United Nations-backed force to stabilize the country, as well as $30m in humanitarian assistance.

Blinken said the meeting was “critical” for Haiti and the region.

The US-backed “a proposal developed in partnership with CARICOM and Haitian stakeholders to expedite a political transition through a creation of a broad-based, independent presidential college”, the US State Department said in a statement.