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Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced on Tuesday his decision to resign due to the ongoing violence in the nation.
Henry stated that his resignation would be effective upon the establishment of a transitional presidential council. This decision follows a meeting between Caribbean leaders and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jamaica, where they agreed to form a council aimed at addressing the crisis. Henry said, “The government that I’m running cannot remain insensitive in front of this situation. There is no sacrifice that is too big for our country.” He added, “The government I’m running will remove itself immediately after the installation of the council.”
This comes as Haiti is currently experiencing severe gang violence, leading to a declared state of emergency. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, over 360,000 people have been displaced due to the ongoing turmoil. The Prime Minister himself faced challenges entering Haiti, with the country’s main international airports shut down amidst the violence. Additionally, attempts to land in the neighboring Dominican Republic were thwarted due to a lack of the necessary flight plan.
The United States has intervened by deploying additional forces to Haiti to enhance security and assist in evacuating personnel from its embassy in Port-au-Prince. The US Southern Command stated that the operation was part of standard practices for embassy security augmentation globally, specifying, “This airlift of personnel into and out of the embassy is consistent with our standard practice for embassy security augmentation worldwide, and no Haitians were on board the military aircraft.”
The violence in Haiti has been in the international spotlight since the assassination of former President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021. Henry, who took office shortly after Moïse’s death, holds the record for the longest single term as Prime Minister under the country’s current constitution.
