Haiti’s embattled Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign as violence and chaos grip country

Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry has resigned as head of the Caribbean nation, the leader of a regional body said on Monday, an unelected role the 74-year-old neurosurgeon has held since the 2021 assassination of the country’s last president.

“We acknowledge his resignation upon the establishment of transitional presidential council and naming an interim prime minister,” said Irfaan Ali, the chair of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), a regional trading bloc. Ali thanked Henry for his service to Haiti.

The group met behind closed doors for several hours to discuss how to halt Haiti’s spiralling violence. Henry did not attend the meeting and could not be immediately reached for comment. A spokesman for the prime minister’s office did not return messages for comment.

Henry travelled to Kenya late last month to secure its leadership of a United Nations-backed international security mission to help police fight armed gangs, but a drastic escalation of violence in the capital Port-au-Prince during his absence left him stranded in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.

Ali said the presidential council would have two observers and seven voting members, including representatives from several coalitions, the private sector, civil society and one religious leader.

The council has been mandated to “swiftly” appoint an interim prime minister, he added, and anyone who intends to run in Haiti’s next elections will not be able participate.

Henry’s resignation comes as regional leaders met earlier on Monday in nearby Jamaica to discuss the framework for a political transition, which the U.S. has urged last week to be “expedited” as armed gangs sought to topple his government.

Regional leaders, speaking with representatives from various sectors of Haitian society, have looked into establishing the transition council intended to pave the way to the first elections since 2016.

Henry, who many Haitians consider corrupt, had repeatedly postponed elections, saying security must first be restored. Haitian senators’ last terms expired at the start of 2023.

Emergency summit aimed at restoring order in Haiti

Regional leaders from the Caribbean, plus officials from Canada and the U.S., met in Jamaica to find a way out of the crisis in Haiti as more than 80 per cent of the capital Port-au-Prince is now under gang control and fears of civil war grow.

Support pledged at emergency meeting

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had earlier on Monday called for the creation of a “broad-based, inclusive, independent presidential college.”

“We all know that urgent action is needed on both the political and security tracks,” Blinken said.

This council would be tasked with meeting the “immediate needs” of Haitian people, enabling the security mission’s deployment and creating security conditions necessary for free elections, Blinken said.

Blinken announced an additional $100 million US to finance the deployment of a multinational force to Haiti following the meeting with Caribbean leaders to halt the country’s violent crisis.

Blinken also announced another $33 million US in humanitarian aid and the creation of a joint proposal agreed on by Caribbean leaders and Haitian stakeholders that would expedite the creation of a “presidential college.”

He said the college would take “concrete steps” he did not identify to meet the needs of Haitian people and enable the pending deployment of the multinational force to be led by Kenya. Blinken also noted that the U.S. Department of Defence doubled its support for the mission, having previously set aside $100 million US.

The joint proposal, which brings the proposed U.S. contribution to the force to $300 million US, has the backing of Caricom.

Government, police targets attacked

The meeting was held as powerful gangs continued to attack key government targets� across Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince.

Haiti declared a state of emergency this month as clashes damaged communications and led to two prison breaks after Jimmy “Barbeque” Cherizier, a leader of an alliance of armed groups, said they would unite and overthrow Henry.

Since Feb. 29, gunmen have burned police stations, closed the main international airports and raided the country’s two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates.

Scores of people have been killed, and more than 15,000 are homeless after fleeing neighbourhoods raided by gangs. Food and water are dwindling as stands and stores selling to impoverished Haitians run out of goods. The main port in Port-au-Prince remains closed, stranding dozens of containers with critical supplies.

Late Monday, the Haitian government announced it was extending a nighttime curfew until March 14 in an attempt to prevent further attacks.