Haiti’s nine-member governing council began to take control of the troubled, gang-riven Caribbean nation as local media reported sporadic gunfire throughout parts of the capital.
Composed of representatives from civil society and the private sector, the council was sworn in on Thursday during a rushed ceremony at the Haitian National Palace.
The group, which has broad international backing, would be tasked with appointing a temporary president, laying the groundwork for long overdue elections, and paving the way for a Kenya-led multinational security force to take on the gangs.
Photo: Reuters
US National Security spokesman John Kirby commended the new council and said the US had landed a military aircraft at the long-shuttered international airport carrying aid.
“Today marks a critical step towards free and fair elections,” he told reporters on Air Force One. “Renewed access to the airport after a month of closure and steps made today toward inclusive governance should give us all hope for the future of Haiti.”
Also on Thursday, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry officially resigned, thanking his supporters and those who had helped him lead Haiti during “difficult times.”
Henry left the country on official business on Feb. 25 and was unable to return as powerful armed groups shut down the airport and seized large swathes of the capital. His resignation was dated Wednesday and signed in Los Angeles, California.
The Haitian Transitional Presidential Council, as the group is known, was the product of intense international negotiations. Among the voting members are former central bank governor Fritz Alphonse Jean; Haiti’s former ambassador to the Dominican Republic Smith Augustin; and Edgard Leblanc, a former senate president. Regine Abraham, the council’s sole female member who holds a nonvoting seat, once worked for the World Bank.
Haiti has been stuck in a profound political and humanitarian crisis that has only grown worse since the assassination of then- Haitian president Jovenel Moise in 2021. Murders and kidnappings are now rampant and more than 90,000 people have fled their homes in the capital alone, according to the UN.
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