Haiti’s prime minister agreed late Monday to step down as armed gangs plunge the country into anarchy, accepting a regional push for a transition that will pave the way for international involvement.
Caribbean governments secured Ariel Henry’s resignation during an emergency summit in Jamaica, where US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged an additional $100 million to clear the way for Kenyan-led security forces.
Gangs have taken over much of the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country, and in recent weeks, the crisis has become even more deadly, with bodies strewn across the streets, armed robbers plundering essential infrastructure, and fears of famine growing.
“The administration I lead cannot ignore this problem. “As I have always said, no sacrifice is too great for our homeland Haiti,” Henry stated in a resignation letter released online.
Gang leaders had sought Henry’s resignation, despite his claims to be a transitional figure. Henry had been in charge since the assassination of Haiti’s president in 2021. Haiti hasn’t had an election since 2016.
Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali, who oversees the Caribbean regional body CARICOM, indicated after a weekend of diplomacy that Henry will depart once a new transitional administration was established.
Ali complimented Henry, adding the prime minister — detained in Puerto Rico because Haiti’s main airport is no longer operational — “has assured us in his actions, in his words, of his selfless intent.”
“And that selfless intent was to see Haiti succeed,” he continued.
Blinken, who spent seven hours inside the negotiations in a Kingston hotel, announced Henry’s resignation via phone conversation initiated by Barbados’ Prime Minister, Mia Mottley.
A US official traveling with Blinken claimed Henry had agreed to resign on Friday but was waiting for the Kingston conference to finalize the transition.
There were also discussions about how to prevent reprisals against Henry and his associates, with the US agreeing that the outgoing prime minister may stay on US soil if he felt endangered in Haiti, according to the official.
Seeking new legitimacy
Senior officials from Brazil, Canada, France, and Mexico attended the talks. According to a statement issued by CARICOM, its partners, and the United Nations, Haiti’s new Transitional Presidential Council will consist of seven voting members who will make decisions by majority vote.
The seven will include representatives from major political parties, the commercial sector, and the Montana Group, a civil society alliance that advocated an interim administration in 2021 following the killing of President Jovenel Moise.
There will also be two non-voting council seats: one for civil society and one for the church.
In Haiti, authority has deteriorated significantly. A nocturnal curfew has been extended until Thursday, although overburdened police officers are unlikely to enforce it.
The host of the crisis talks, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness, has warned that Haiti faces civil war.
“It is clear that Haiti is now at a tipping point,” he said, urging “strong and decisive action” to “stem the sea of lawlessness and hopelessness before it is too late.”
US boosts security aid
Blinken promised another $100 million to support an international stability team, bringing the total amount pledged by the US to $300 million since the crisis erupted some years earlier.
Blinken also pledged an additional $33 million in emergency humanitarian help.
The increase in violence “creates an untenable situation for the Haitian people, and we all know that urgent action is needed on both the political and security tracks,” Blinken said in a statement.
“All of us know that only the Haitian people can, and only the Haitian people should determine their future — not anyone else,” Blinken said in a statement.
However, he stated that the United States and its partners “can help restore foundational security” and alleviate “the tremendous suffering” in Haiti.
President Joe Biden, who concluded the US war in Afghanistan, has ruled out placing troops in harm’s way in Haiti, where the US occupied over two decades a century ago and has intervened since.
The focus first shifted to Canada, but it also judged that a Haiti operation was too risky, with success doubtful.
Canada, on the other hand, has donated $91 million to Haiti, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau committed to continue supporting the country while speaking remotely at the Kingston meeting.
Kenya moved on, but was thwarted by a domestic court ruling prohibiting the deployment.
The plan regained momentum after Henry visited Nairobi and agreed to a “reciprocal” exchange of forces between the two countries. However, with violence escalating, Henry was unable to return to Haiti, arriving in Puerto Rico after the Dominican Republic refused to accept him.