Haiti’s future remains in flux as its former prime minister says only he can appoint a transitionary council to transfer power.
Ariel Henry announced his resignation Monday after gang leader Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Cherizier seized control with calls for a ‘bloody uprising’ to depose him.
Following a meeting with representatives from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), he agreed to step down once a transitional council had been set up.
However, hopes of a swift resolution have been thrown into turmoil again after Henry admitted to CNN that only he can sign off on the council members.
An adviser revealed Henry will not ‘simply deliver the country’ to new leaders without following proper process.
The transitional council proposed would be made up of seven leaders from across Haitian society, including representatives from the political, civil and religious sphere.
Former Haiti prime minister Ariel Henry says only he can appoint a transitionary council to transfer power following his resignation
Haiti has been plunged chaos and mob rule under the direction of Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Cherizier who called for a bloody uprising to depose the former prime minister
Cherizier (pictured) warned of a ‘genocide’ unless Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry stepped down
But Henry said he ‘will not deliver the country to just a group of people without following the procedure’
‘According to the Haitian constitution, only the prime minister with the cabinet can appoint the presenting council,’ special adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Henry, Jean Junior Joseph, told CNN.
‘Yes, the PM expresses his patriotic intentions to resign with his cabinet, but we have to do this in order.
‘We will not deliver the country to just a group of people without following the procedure. We are in crisis as a country, but we must stay inside of the law and set a good example.
‘The council will have to go through the same process he went through when Ariel Henry became PM.’
According to the Haitian constitution, once the president is indisposed only the ministerial cabinet is authorized to make decisions in their absence.
The admission will come as a blow to Haitians hoping for a quick end to the wave of violence that has swept the country in recent days.
Gang fighting has left the dead piling up in the streets of the capital Port-au-Prince and so far displaced more than 15,000 people.
The US State Department has not indicated how many Americans its estimates are among those caught up in the chaos.
On Wednesday, Governor Ron DeSantis announced he is deploying 250 additional state guardsmen to the southern coast of Florida to help ‘protect’ it.
The volatile situation has seen dead bodies pile up in the streets of the nation’s capital Port-au-Prince
More than 15,000 people have been displaced in Haiti in the last two weeks, prompting fears of a refugee crisis
Henry agreed to step down following a meeting with representatives from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) once a transitional council has been set up
Henry came to power unelected in 2021 following the assassination of Haiti’s previous prime minister Jovenel Moïse.
While his premiership has been marred by instability, the situation escalated after he failed to hold elections by an agreed date citing the instability in the country.
The unrest reached a fever pitch after he travelled to Kenya to shore up support for an international police force to restore order to the streets of Haiti, which he said would enable him to call an election.
Kenya has since said it will not send the UN-authorized Multinational Security Support (MSS) until Haiti forms a new government, but has insisted it remains committed to leading the mission according to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
Calls for Henry’s resignation came most vocally from gang leader Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Chevrizier, who warned of a ‘genocide’ unless he stepped aside.
On Wedneday, Blinken told a press conference he believed a transitional council could be set up ‘within the next couple of days’ with an interim prime minster selected shortly after.
However, Chevrizier had warned he would not acknowledge any government formed through the CARICOM consensus.
Instead, the gangs are likely to opt for a ‘troika’ – a government composed of three members selected by them, according to Al Jazeera.
The proposed transitional council would be made up of seven leaders from across Haitian society, including representatives from the political, civil and religious sphere
But there were further protests after CARICOM announced the plan for a transitional council
A woman walks past burning tires during a demonstration following the resignation of its Prime Minister Ariel Henry, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Tuesday
In recent days, a jailbreak in Haiti led to almost 4,000 prisoners being liberated and left to roam the streets of the besieged country.
Haitian-American Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick warned the unrest could pose a threat to US Security amid concerns some of the arrivals could be from violent gangs.
Cherfilus-McCormick called for aid to ‘fight the gangs’ and prevent violence spilling into the country.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called the situation in Haiti ‘one of the most urgent challenges we face as an international community.’
On Wednesday, he reiterated that the Department of Defense has doubled its contributions to plans for a multinational security system t eventually be deployed to Haiti to $200 million.
This is in addition to $100 million from the rest of the federal government. Blinken also announced an additional contribution of $33 million in humanitarian assistance.
A number of Americans have been left stranded in Haiti after a bloodthirsty gang’s attempt to take over the main international airport shuttered the facility, which remained close as of Wednesday.
Florida-based Missionary Flights International said on Tuesday it had been contacted by more than 50 Americans and Canadians desperately trying to escape.
Once the transitional council has been selected, an interim prime minister will be appointed until the country is in a position to hold elections
The US along with other countries is providing backing to a multinational security system to be deployed to Haiti to help regain order in the streets
The violence in Haiti escalated after Henry flew to Kenya to try and shore up support for the MSS
Cherizier has already indicated he will reject any government formed through the CARICOM agreement
U.S. Southern Command said the fleet-anti-terrorism security team, known as FAST, was deployed to the embassy in the nation’s capital.
The embassy is still open, but most staff have been airlifted out and operations are limited.
The decision came after a wave of attacks across the city at state institutions including police stations and the country’s Ministry of Interior, which was burned on Saturday.
Heavily-armed gangs have been in firefights with cops and soldiers, tried to seize the airport and targeted government sites.
In Port-au-Prince on Wednesday, shops were open and life was slowly returning to normal although the situation remains far from secure.
Gangs have burned police stations, shot up the main international airport, which remains closed. Pictured: A demonstrator holds up a flag demanding Henry’s resignation
The UN has now warned Haiti is on the brink of a devastating hunger crisis, with aid operations at risk of ‘grinding to a halt’
Buses were running and some government offices were open after being closed for two weeks. But schools and the city’s airport remain closed.
The UN said Wednesday that it would begin ‘reducing the footprint of non-essential personnel,’ but that ‘colleagues who carry out life-saving activities will remain in Haiti to continue operations.’
But the agency previously warned Haiti is on the brink of a devastating hunger crisis, with aid operations at risk of ‘grinding to a halt’.
Cindy McCain, World Food Program’s Executive Director, said the spreading violence is keeping aid workers from reaching communities in need at a time when donor funds are drying up.
‘Haiti needs more than just boots on the ground,’ she said. ‘Efforts to restore law and order must be matched by an equally effective humanitarian response to meet soaring needs.’
In Haiti, Jean-Martin Bauer, WFP country director, also warned of an impending famine and stressed that a failure to act will lead to ‘unrest, strife and mass migration’.
The country has struggled with political instability and some of the highest poverty rates in the world which is only being exacerbated by the current crisis.
Blinken expressed hope that the ‘Haitian designed, Haitian’ led solution to the power vacuum with the multi national security support system led by Kenya would bring stability to the country.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is sending 250 additional state guardsmen to the southern coast for ‘protection’ amid fears of a mass exodus
On Wednesday, there were signs of an improvement in the security situation, with no new attacks on police station or government offices,
The main CPS cargo port had reopened, local news outlet Le Nouvelliste reported, while some fuel from the Varreux facility near the port had been allowed out
The US Department of State says it does not know how many American citizens are caught up in the chaos
‘We should be in a place where that mission can go forward it can we believe help reestablish security take back control from the gangs, meanwhile political transition is moving forward […] that in turn creates a better environment for us to get assistance in get it people who need it, get development moving again and get some opportunity for people,’ Blinken said.
The government’s Travel Advisory for Haiti has been at Level 4 – Do Not Travel since March 2020.
The Department of State is advising US citizens not to travel to Haiti, and said those in the country, ‘should depart immediately using commercial or other private transportation options when available’.
