Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry has stepped down from the position after a raging episode of gang violence plunged the country into chaos.
Henry, currently in Puerto Rico, was prevented from returning to Haiti after a trip to Kenya, where he sought to arrange for an African military contingent to restore order to the country.
On Tuesday, March 12, Henry announced his resignation and said that he would step down and make way for a transitional council to govern the country. Haiti has been gripped by instability since the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenal Moïses.
Henry announced his resignation in a video statement. “The government that I lead cannot remain indifferent to his situation. As I have always said, no sacrifice is too great for our common homeland Haiti… 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 said.
Following his resignation, the Caribbean Community regional bloc (Caricom) convened in Jamaica and agreed to form a transitional council that will be led by a 7-member Presidential Council. The Presidential Council will also choose a new Prime Minister, but it is unclear who will have the authority and legitimacy to steer Haiti out of this crisis of political order.
This announcement has not been well received by the gangs that orchestrated the violence and chaos. Jimmy "Barbecue” Chérizier announced that if the international community were to back a transition, it would “plunge Haiti into further chaos.”
The crisis in Haiti, now the Western hemisphere’s poorest country, is far from over. Since the armed gangs control over 80% of the nation’s capital, whatever political authority replaces Henry’s government will as a matter of necessity, have to engage with the gangs.
Haiti last held an election in 2016, and the political crisis has only gotten worse since the assassination of President Moïses.