Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry and his cabinet formally resigned on Thursday, indicating they are not stopping in the transition to a new era of governance. The decision leaves a political vacuum as the country continues to struggle with insecurity and a humanitarian crisis.
Mr Henry announced his resignation in two letters to cabinet members meeting late Wednesday. The notification was made public on Thursday as members of the new Interim Presidential Council were about to finish their swearing-in ceremony.
The nine-member council is tasked with charting a path out of the current crisis and leading Haiti to eventual elections. In a decree published in the Official Gazette, Minister of Finance Michel-Patrick Boisvert was appointed interim Prime Minister.
Mr. Boisvert had been acting as Prime Minister Henri's deputy while he was away from Haiti because he was unable to return home. Henry was on an official visit to Kenya finalizing an agreement to deploy a multinational security assistance force to help the Haitian National Police fight gangs when riots shut down the country's airport. had left the country.
Mr. Boisvert will be in charge of the country's day-to-day governance, while the presidential council will work to find Mr. Henri's replacement and prepare the country for the arrival of the Kenyan-led mission.
Mr Henry originally announced his intention to resign on March 11, after being sworn in by Parliament.
On Wednesday, council members said the swearing-in ceremony would take place in the Haitian Prime Minister's former office at Villa d'Acuille due to security concerns at the National Palace, but it was decided at the last minute that the swearing-in ceremony would take place. . A palace anyway.
Prior to the 10 a.m. ceremony, nine members of the Presidential Council, wearing dark blue suits, took the oath on the grounds of the National Palace.
After the swearing-in ceremony, they went to the Villa d'Aquueil, where Interreligious Community Representative Régine Abraham, the only woman on the commission, addressed the nation.
After being sworn in today, the new council will need to elect a president from among its seven voting members and begin the process of choosing Henry's successor.
In his resignation letter, Henry thanked the government officials and members of the security forces who had accompanied him during his nearly three-year term.
“We appreciate the sacrifices you have made during this difficult time,” he said. “We are devastated by the tremendous loss and suffering endured by the Haitian people during this crisis.”
Henry was the longest-serving prime minister in Haiti's troubled political history, an era marked by an unprecedented period of gang violence and chaos, kidnappings and a humanitarian crisis that spiraled out of control. His inability to stem the violence and control the proliferation of gangs that now control more than 80% of the capital made him an unpopular figure among leaders at home and in the Caribbean.
One of the overlooked accomplishments of his tenure was Haiti's finances. The government has increased revenue from the country's ports by cracking down on corruption, and Haiti recently agreed to pay Venezuela 500 million in debt as part of negotiations to cancel about $2 billion owed to the South American country as part of the Petrocaribe oil program. Paid $.
More than 2,500 Haitians have been killed or injured since January, the United Nations said, making it the deadliest three months since the United Nations began tracking gang-related deaths in 2021. After the gang launched new attacks on February 29, demanding his ouster, the Biden administration, which had supported Henry, pressured him to resign.
Henry was appointed prime minister by President Jovenel Moïse about two months before his assassination. Both men kept their nominations secret and it was not made public until several days before Moïse's murder on July 7, 2021.
While in office, Henry was accused of involvement in the president's death after a phone call from one of the suspects. But both the suspect, Joseph Félix Badiou, and the Haitian judge investigating the assassination cleared him of any involvement.
