Ariel Henry Resigns, Paving Way for New Leadership in Haiti Amidst Crisis

On Thursday, Ariel Henry resigned as Haiti's prime minister, paving the way for a new government to be formed in the Caribbean country, which has been plagued by gang violence that killed or injured over 2,500 people from January to March. Henry submitted his resignation in a letter signed in Los Angeles on April 24 and released by his office on the same day that a council responsible for selecting a new prime minister and Cabinet for Haiti was sworn in. Meanwhile, Henry's remaining Cabinet chose Economy and Finance Minister Michel Patrick Boisvert as the interim prime minister.Addressing a crowded room in the prime minister's office, Boisvert said that Haiti's crisis had persisted for too long and that the country now found itself at a crossroads. He called the transitional council a "Haitian solution" and wished them success. The council was installed earlier on Thursday, more than a month after Caribbean leaders announced its creation following an emergency meeting to address Haiti's escalating crisis.The nine-member council, of which seven have voting powers, is expected to help set the agenda of a new Cabinet, appoint a provisional electoral commission, and establish a national security council. The council's non-renewable mandate expires on February 7, 2026, when a new president is scheduled to be sworn in. Smith Augustin, a voting member of the council, said it was unclear if the council would decide to keep Boisvert on as interim prime minister or choose another.Regine Abraham, a nonvoting member of the council, recalled the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse and explained that "that violence had a devastating impact". She said that gangs now controlled most of Port-au-Prince, tens of thousands of residents have been displaced by violence, and over 900 schools in the capital have been forced to close. Gangs launched coordinated attacks that began on February 29 in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas. They burned police stations and hospitals, opened fire on the main international airport that has remained closed since early March, stormed Haiti's two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates, and severed access to Haiti's largest port.The international community has urged the council to prioritize Haiti's widespread insecurity. María Isabel Salvador, the UN special envoy for Haiti, said at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday that "it is impossible to overstate the increase in gang activity across Port-au-Prince and beyond, the deterioration of the human rights situation and the deepening of the humanitarian crisis". On Thursday, some Haitians said they didn't know that the country had a new prime minister and a transitional council in place.Dennis Hankins, the newly installed US ambassador, attended Boisvert's swearing-in ceremony on Thursday. He said Thursday's events were an important step for Haiti and added that the US government was working to enforce export controls on weapons, many of which have found their way to Haiti, fueling the violence. Nearly 100,000 people have fled Port-au-Prince in search of safer cities and towns since the attacks began.At the United Nations on Thursday, World Food Program Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau said Haiti is suffering from a security, political and humanitarian crisis that is causing acute food insecurity for some 5 million people or about half the population. "The situation is dramatic," Skau told reporters. "Devastating crisis, massive humanitarian impact –the worst humanitarian situation in Haiti since the 2010 earthquake."