(CMR) Prime Minister of Haiti Ariel Henry caved to pressure for him to resign, announcing Monday he will step down amid violence and chaos in the country.
Mohamed Irfaan Ali, president of Guyana and chairman of Caricom, announced Henry's resignation at a Monday night news conference.
“We acknowledge the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, upon the establishment of a transitional presidential council and the naming of an interim prime minister,” Ali said.
Ali also announced “the commitment to a transitional governance arrangement which paves the way for a peaceful transition of power.”
Henry, who has been blocked from returning from overseas, had been resisting calls by the United States and Caribbean governments to resign, even as gangs threatened civil war if he did not quit.
Henry, who was in the US last week, was forced to land in Puerto Rico after he was unable to land in Haiti due to threats at the airport.
In a pre-recorded video, Henry announced his intention to resign, stating that the government would step down once a new presidential transitional council is sworn in.
The agreement came after top diplomats from the United States and across the Caribbean met in Jamaica on Monday to discuss the crisis facing Haiti and the way forward.
“For more than a week, our country has experienced an increase in acts of violence of all kinds perpetrated against the population: assassinations, attacks against law enforcement, looting, systematic destruction of public and private buildings,” Henry said in the video.
“We deplore the numerous losses of human life. The government that I lead cannot remain indifferent to this situation. As I have always said, no sacrifice is too great for our common homeland, Haiti,” he added.
He said Haiti needs peace and stability to rebuild its democratic institutions.
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid