They would have asked him to do so at the Caricom meeting, which was attended by the United States, after the seizure of the Haitian capital by armed gangs.
After the emergency meeting of the Caribbean Community (Caricom)held in Kingston (Jamaica), Ariel Henry agreed to resign and hand over power to a transitional authority, as reported by the Government of Haiti in a video published on its “X” account. Henry had assumed power in 2021, after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.
Henry was due to leave power in February, which unleashed a wave of violence led by the country’s main armed gangs, who took over several strategic areas of Port-au-Prince, the capital of the Caribbean country, to demand the resignation of the prime minister. Even a gang leader threatened civil war if Henry did not resign. It is that in addition to his continuity in power, Haiti operates without a parliament or president, and its last elections were held in 2016.. This caused an emergency meeting of Caricom, who, together with pressure from the United States, asked Henry to resign.
Irfaan Ali, president of Guyana and temporary president of Caricom, declared: “We are pleased to announce our commitment to a transitional government agreement that paves the way for a peaceful transition of power”. “To this end, we take note of the resignation of the Prime Minister Ariel Henry“He added at the press conference held on Monday night. Henry was in Kenya, unblocking the arrival of an international aid mission when the conflict broke out. Since then, he has been in Puerto Rico, after failing to land in Haiti. and that he was denied entry to his neighboring Dominican Republic.
After hearing the news, Kenya suspended the sending of the international mission, as confirmed by Korir Sing’oei, principal secretary of Foreign Affairs of the African country. “A fundamental change in circumstances occurred as a result of the complete breakdown of law and order and the subsequent resignation of the Prime Minister of Haiti”, he declared. Furthermore, he stated that he will wait for a new constitutional authority to be installed in Haiti before making further decisions on the matter.
The intervention of the United States after the resignation of the Prime Minister of Haiti
As confirmed by the head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, Henry called him to confirm the news. Furthermore, he assured that the now former Prime Minister of Haiti will be welcome if he decides to stay in Puerto Rico, a US territory. Blinken, still in Kingston, confirmed the sending of an additional 100 million dollars in order to support an international stabilization force in Haiti, raising the amount promised by Washington to 300 million since the intensification of the conflict in the Caribbean country in recent years. In addition to that, the Secretary of State offered $33 million in immediate humanitarian aid.
Haiti was occupied for two decades by the United States a century ago, which has intervened in that country consistently since then. Joe Biden, American president, ruled out sending troops to what is the poorest country in America. However, from the State Department, they commented that they saw no need to delay the sending of the international mission by Kenya.
Blinken, for his part, confirmed that the United States supports the plan to create a broad-based, inclusive and independent presidential college, which would take concrete steps to meet the immediate needs of the Haitian people, and would allow the rapid deployment of the support mission. to safety. Furthermore, he added that this presidential college “would create the security conditions necessary to hold free and fair electionsto allow humanitarian assistance to reach the people who need it and to help put Haiti back on the path to economic opportunity and growth.”
Source: Ambito
