Haiti’s Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, has resigned due to escalating violence in the country.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) held an emergency summit in Jamaica to address the crisis in Haiti, and Henry tendered his resignation after the meeting.
The 74-year-old politician announced his government’s plan to leave power after the establishment of a transitional council in a video address.
“We will be a caretaker government until they name a prime minister and a new cabinet,” Henry said in a video address.
“I want to thank the Haitian people for the opportunity I had been granted. I’m asking all Haitians to remain calm and do everything they can for peace and stability to come back as fast as possible.”
Henry was stranded in Puerto Rico after his plane was denied permission to land in Haiti.
While he was away, the violence worsened. A rebel group invaded two of Haiti’s main prisons, freeing over 4,000 inmates. The gangs also attacked the National Palace, set part of the interior ministry on fire with petrol bombs, and carried out sustained attacks on the international airport.
Haiti has not had an election since 2016. Henry, who had led the country on an interim basis since July 2021 following former President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination, repeatedly postponed elections, saying security must be restored first.
Many Haitians had questioned his governing the country for so long without an elected president and accused him of corruption.
According to Guyana’s president, Mohamed Ali, Henry’s interim successor will be appointed by a presidential council made up of two observers and seven voting members.
Ali added that anyone who intends to run in Haiti’s next elections will not be part of the transitional council.
Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier, the country’s most notorious gang leader, had demanded the prime minister’s resignation, saying that the violence would not stop until he stepped down.
