The way is paved for the formation of a new government in Haiti

Prince Port.- Ariel Henry resigned this Thursday as prime minister of Haiti, clearing the way for a new government to be formed in the Caribbean country, devastated by gang violence that has killed or injured more than 2,500 people between January and March.

Henry submitted his resignation in a letter signed in Los Angeles, dated April 24, and published Thursday by his office, the same day a council tasked with choosing a new prime minister and cabinet for Haiti was to be sworn in.

Meanwhile, Henri’s remaining cabinet elected Economy and Finance Minister Michel Patrick Boisvert as interim prime minister. At the moment, it is not known whether the transitional council will elect its own interim prime minister.

Speaking in a crowded, humid room in the prime minister’s office, Boisvert said Haiti’s crisis has gone on too long and the country is now at a crossroads. Members of the transitional council stood behind him, as did senior police and army officers.

He called the transitional council a “Haitian solution” and, addressing its members, Boisvert wished them success and added that “I think the determination is there.”

After the speeches, the soft clink of glass echoed through the room, as attendees raised their champagne glasses, toasting a somber “To Haiti.”

The council was installed more than a month after Caribbean leaders announced its creation following an emergency meeting to address Haiti’s growing crisis. Henry had promised to resign once the council was installed.

The council, made up of nine members, seven of whom have voting rights, is expected to help set the blueprint for a new cabinet. He will also appoint a provisional electoral commission, a prerequisite for holding elections, and establish a national security council.

The council’s non-renewable term expires on February 7, 2026, when a new president is scheduled to be sworn in.

Smith Augustin, a voting member of the council, said it is not known if the council will decide to keep Boisvert as interim premier, or if it will choose someone else. He indicated that this will be discussed in the coming days. “The crisis is unsustainable,” he stated.

Regine Abraham, a non-voting member of the council, recalled the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, committed in July 2021, and explained that “that violence had a devastating impact.”

Abraham said gangs now control most of Port-au-Prince, tens of thousands of Haitians have been displaced by violence, and more than 900 schools in the capital have been forced to close.

“Literally, the population of Port-au-Prince has been taken hostage,” he said.

The gangs launched coordinated attacks beginning on February 29 in Port-au-Prince, the country’s capital, and surrounding areas, burning police stations and hospitals, opening fire on the main international airport, which has been closed since March, and storming the two largest prisons in Haiti, releasing more than 4,000 prisoners. Gangs have also blocked passage to the country’s largest port.

The attack began when Henri was in Kenya, on an official visit to request the deployment of a UN-backed police force from that East African country. Henri is currently prohibited from returning to Haiti.

“Port-au-Prince is currently almost completely isolated due to air, sea and land blockades,” UNICEF director Catherine Russell said earlier this week.

The international community has urged the council to prioritize widespread insecurity in Haiti. Even before the attacks began, the gangs already controlled 80% of Port-au-Prince. The number of people killed in early 2024 increased by more than 50% compared to the same period last year, according to a recent UN report.

“It is impossible to overestimate the increase in gang activity throughout Port-au-Prince and beyond, the deteriorating human rights situation and the deepening humanitarian crisis,” UN special envoy María Isabel Salvador said Monday. for Haiti, in a meeting of the organization’s Security Council.

Nearly 100,000 people have fled the capital seeking safer cities and towns since the attacks began. Tens of thousands more were left homeless after gangs burned down their homes, and now live in makeshift, overcrowded shelters across Port-au-Prince, where there are only one or two toilets for hundreds of residents.