THE Haitian de facto Prime Minister Ariel Henri, facing a challenge to his legality and a wave of gang violence in his country, resigned on Monday, the president of the Caribbean Community of States (CARICOM) and a US official said.

“We are registering the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry,” said Mohamed Irfan Ali, the president of Guyana, which holds the CARICOM presidency, during a news conference after the regional body’s emergency session in Jamaica devoted to the Haiti crisis.

He added that he is “happy” because he is able to announce a “transitional governance agreement” for Haiti, which will “pave the way for a peaceful transfer of power”, guarantee the “continuity” of governance, as well as a “short-term plan of action for the security” so that “free and fair elections” can be held.

The meeting of the Caribbean countries was convened yesterday in Jamaica on the initiative of CARICOM and with the presence of representatives of the UN and other states, including France and the USA, in the context of efforts to find a solution to the crisis in Haiti.

The capital Port-au-Prince continued over the weekend to be given over to gang violence, demanding the resignation of Ariel Henri, as well as part of the population.

Stranded in the US territory of Puerto Rico after failing to return to the Haitian capital, Mr. Henri held talks remotely with leaders of other CARICOM member countries during the emergency session.

He confirmed his resignation during a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who was in Jamaica, a US official said.

The latter added that Mr. Henry, 74, a neurosurgeon before entering politics, was welcome to remain in Puerto Rico if he wished.

In a video given by Prime Minister Henri himself, he “thanked” the Haitians and called for “peace” and normality to be restored.

Haiti has no president — the last head of state, Jovenel Moise, was assassinated on July 7, 2021 by a squad of executioners — and no parliament, as the country has been holding elections since 2016. Mr. Henri, whom Jovenel had named Moise, was supposed to leave office in February, after an agreement with various political forces, but decided to stay.

In early March, he signed a bilateral agreement in Nairobi to send Kenyan police to Haiti and has since been trying to return to his country.

Guyana’s president Ali had warned a few days ago that CARICOM intended to help restore “stability and order” in Haiti, describing the situation as “hopeless”.

Emergency situation

The Haitian capital has become the scene of clashes in recent days between police and gang members, who have attacked strategic locations, notably the presidential palace, police stations and prisons.

A more recent sign of the security crisis: yesterday all EU staff present were rushed out of Port-au-Prince.

On the night of Saturday to Sunday, the Americans hastily removed their non-essential diplomatic personnel by helicopter.

The Haitian authorities declared a state of emergency and a curfew at the same time in the country’s western prefecture, which includes the capital, a week ago, but they do not have control over the area.

Yesterday Monday the traffic ban was extended until the day after tomorrow Thursday, according to an announcement by the authorities.

Diplomatic sources said the meeting in Kingston was intended to formalize a proposal for Ariel Henri to hand over power to a transitional council made up of representatives of civil society and various political forces.

Earlier yesterday, the UN Security Council called on all political actors in Haiti to conduct “serious negotiations” for the “restoration of democratic institutions” in the country.

The head of American diplomacy Blinken announced for his part after the meeting in Jamaica that the US will allocate another 133 million dollars to solve the crisis in Haiti, 100 million for the international armed force that is expected to be deployed in the country and 33 million .dollars for humanitarian aid.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who attended the emergency session digitally, pledged another roughly $91 million.