![](\"http:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/haitian-pm-tenders-resignation-after-jamaica-talks.jpg\")
Haiti\u2019s unelected prime minister, Ariel Henry, will step down once a transition council and temporary replacement have been appointed, he said on Monday, after leading the Caribbean country since the 2021 assassination of its last president.<\/p>\n
Armed gangs massively grew their wealth, influence and territory under his administration, prompting Henry to travel to Kenya in late February to secure its support for a United Nations-backed security mission to help police.However, the conflict dramatically escalated in his absence and left the 74-year-old neurosurgeon stranded in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico while regional leaders called for a swift transition.\u201cThe government that I am leading will resign immediately after the installation of (a transition) council,\u201d Henry said in a video address. \u201cI want to thank the Haitian people for the opportunity I had been granted.\u201d\u201cI\u2019m asking all Haitians to remain calm and do everything they can for peace and stability to come back as fast as possible,\u201d he added.Videos distributed on Haitian social media appeared to celebrations in the street, with people dancing to music in a party atmosphere and fireworks launched into the night sky.A senior U.S. official said Henry was free to remain in Puerto Rico or travel elsewhere, though security in Haiti would need to improve for him to feel comfortable returning home. The official said the resignation had been decided on Friday.PRESIDENTIAL COUNCIL<\/strong>Henry is set to be replaced by a presidential council that will have two observers and seven voting members, including representatives from a number of coalitions, the private sector, civil society and one religious leader.The council has been mandated to quickly appoint an interim prime minister; anyone who intends to run in Haiti\u2019s next elections will not be able participate.Haiti has lacked elected representatives since early 2023 and its next elections will be the first since 2016. Henry, who many Haitians consider corrupt, had repeatedly postponed elections, saying security must first be restored.Regional leaders met on Monday in nearby Jamaica to discuss the framework for a political transition, which the U.S. had urged last week to be \u201cexpedited\u201d as armed gangs sought to topple his government.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had earlier Monday said the council would be tasked with meeting the \u201cimmediate needs\u201d of Haitians, enabling the security mission\u2019s deployment and creating security conditions necessary for free elections.Haiti declared a state of emergency early this month as clashes damaged communications and led to two prison breaks after Jimmy \u201cBarbeque\u201d Cherizier, a leader of an alliance of armed groups, said they would unite and overthrow Henry.MORE MISSION FUNDS<\/strong>Henry\u2019s resignation comes alongside regional talks over participation in an international force, which he had requested to help police fight the gangs, whose brutal turf wars have fueled a humanitarian crisis, cut off food supplies and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier Monday the United States would contribute an additional $100 million to this force and $33 million in humanitarian aid, bringing the U.S.\u2019 total pledge to the force to $300 million.It was however unclear how long it will take the funding to be approved by lawmakers and transferred. A U.N. spokesperson said that as of Monday, less than $11 million had been deposited into the U.N.\u2019s dedicated trust fund \u2013 with no new contributions since Haiti declared its state of emergency on March 3.Mexico\u2019s foreign minister added that the country had contributed an unspecified amount of funds, and called for more action to stem the trafficking of arms to Haiti.The U.N. believes Haitian gangs have amassed large arsenals of weapons trafficked largely from the United States.The United Nations estimates over 362,000 people have been internally displaced, half of whom are children, and thousands have been killed in the overall conflict, with widespread reports of rape, torture and ransom kidnappings since 2021.\u2018A BLOODY REVOLUTION\u2019<\/strong>In Haiti, gang leader Cherizier has threatened to go after hotel owners hiding politicians or collaborating with Henry. He demanded that the country\u2019s next leader be chosen by the people and live in Haiti, alongside their families.Many influential Haitian political figures live abroad.\u201cWe\u2019re not in a peaceful revolution. We are making a bloody revolution in the country because this system is an apartheid system, a wicked system,\u201d Cherizier said.Residents in the capital saw heavy gunfire over the weekend as armed men downtown surrounded the National Palace on Friday night and by Sunday the United States airlifted staff from its embassy. On Monday, authorities extended a nightly curfew until Thursday.Washington said it was looking to expedite the deployment of the planned security mission.Henry first requested an international security force in 2022, but countries have been slow to offer support, with some raising doubts over the legitimacy of Henry\u2019s unelected government amid widespread protests.Many in Haitian communities and abroad are wary of international interventions after previous U.N. missions left behind a devastating cholera epidemic and sex abuse scandals, for which reparations were never made.Mike Ballard, intelligence director at security firm Global Guardian, said if gangs take control of ports and airports, they would be in charge of humanitarian aid to the country, adding that he did not believe Kenyan forces would effectively police or maintain peace.\u201cCountries with actual stakes in the region will need to step up and help shore up security,\u201d he said, pointing to the United States, neighboring Dominican Republic and other CARICOM members.Follow the Ariel Henry, Haiti’s unelected prime minister since the 2021 assassination of the last president, announced he will step down after a transition council and a temporary replacement are appointed. Under his administration, armed gangs expanded their wealth, influence, and territory, leading Henry to seek support from Kenya for a UN-backed security mission. His trip coincided with an escalation in conflict, leaving him stranded in Puerto Rico. Henry’s resignation was decided on Friday, and he will be replaced by a presidential council consisting of two observers and seven voting members from various sectors. Haiti has been without elected representatives since early 2023, and the next elections will be the first since 2016. The U.S. has pledged an additional 0 million to the international force to help fight gangs in Haiti, bringing its total pledge to 0 million. Gang violence has led to a humanitarian crisis, with over 362,000 people internally displaced and thousands killed since 2021. Gang leader Jimmy “Barbeque” Cherizier has called for a “bloody revolution” and criticized the current system as an apartheid system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3842,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[122,43,3,153,988,1392,304,250,415,297,1474,1235,399,964,187,1346,961,699,184,131,577,912,1371,827,817,1358,1026,1476,1182,414,1475,544,134],"class_list":["post-3841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cyprus","tag-aid","tag-airports","tag-cyprus","tag-elections","tag-fight","tag-foreign-minister","tag-funding","tag-google","tag-government","tag-gunfire","tag-haiti","tag-humanitarian","tag-humanitarian-aid","tag-humanitarian-crisis","tag-international","tag-meeting","tag-mexico","tag-music","tag-police","tag-prison","tag-protests","tag-rape","tag-scandals","tag-security","tag-social-media","tag-support","tag-talks","tag-transition-council","tag-travel","tag-un","tag-unelected-prime-minister","tag-united-states","tag-violence"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n
\nCyprus Mail on Google News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"