{"id":16910,"date":"2024-03-13T13:48:10","date_gmt":"2024-03-13T13:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/13\/haitis-leader-to-resign-as-gangs-run-rampant-through-country-engulfed-in-crisis\/"},"modified":"2024-03-13T13:48:10","modified_gmt":"2024-03-13T13:48:10","slug":"haitis-leader-to-resign-as-gangs-run-rampant-through-country-engulfed-in-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/13\/haitis-leader-to-resign-as-gangs-run-rampant-through-country-engulfed-in-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Haiti\u2019s leader to resign as gangs run rampant through country engulfed in crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The embattled prime minister of Haiti, Ariel\u00a0Henry, has said he will resign after weeks of mounting chaos in the Caribbean nation, where gangs have been attacking\u00a0government structures\u00a0and social order is on the brink of collapse. <\/p>\n

Henry said in a video address late Monday that his government would leave power after the establishment of a transitional council, adding, \u201cHaiti needs peace. Haiti needs stability.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cMy government will leave immediately after the inauguration of the council. We will be a caretaker government until they name a prime minister and a new cabinet,\u201d Henry said. <\/p>\n

The Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), meeting in Jamaica on Monday said it had agreed to set up a transitional council to lay the foundations for elections in Haiti. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are pleased to announce the commitment to transitional governance arrangement which paves the way for a peaceful transition of power, continuity of governance and action plan for near-term security and the road to free and fair elections. It further seeks to assure that Haiti will be governed by the rule of law,\u201d said Guyana leader and CARICOM Chairman Irfaan Ali in a news conference, flanked by other Caribbean leaders. <\/p>\n

When the worst of the violence erupted last week,\u00a0Henry\u00a0was in Kenya to sign an agreement to send 1,000 Kenyan police officers to the Caribbean nation to restore the security situation of which his government has lost control. <\/p>\n

He was unable to return to Haiti as the security situation deteriorated around the airport in the capital, Port-au-Prince. A plan to travel via the neighboring Dominican Republic was abandoned after the government there refused permission for his plane to land. He has been in the US territory of Puerto Rico since last week. <\/p>\n

The United States will contribute $300 million to the Kenyan-led multinational security mission, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said after attending the CARICOM meeting on Monday. He also announced an additional $33 million in \u201chumanitarian assistance for the people of Haiti.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWithout a political administration in Haiti, there is no anchor on which a police deployment can rest, hence the government will await the installation of a new constitutional authority in Haiti,\u201d Kenya\u2019s principal secretary for foreign affars, Koror Sing\u2019Oei, said. <\/p>\n

But despite the Kenyan official\u2019s comment, the US believes the Kenyan peacekeeping mission to Haiti will move forward \u201cwithout delay.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the Kenyan government said in its statement is that they have to have a government with which to collaborate,\u201d State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a press briefing. He said the appointment of a transitional council and a new government would happen \u201cin the very near future,\u201d clearing the way for Kenya to deploy its forces. <\/p>\n

Henry was under pressure from the United States to secure a political settlement, but it is far from clear who will step in. One name touted is Guy Philippe, a rebel leader recently deported from the US to Haiti after serving a prison sentence for money laundering. <\/p>\n

Henry, who came to power unelected in 2021 following the assassination of Haiti\u2019s then-president, failed to hold elections last year, saying the country\u2019s insecurity would compromise the vote. But his decision only further enraged protesters who had for months demanded he stand down as Haiti slid further into poverty and rampant gang violence. <\/p>\n

Since Henry\u2019s trip to Kenya, Port-au-Prince has been gripped by a wave of highly coordinated gang attacks on law enforcement and state institutions, which has forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. <\/p>\n

Chaos in the capital<\/h2>\n

Haiti\u2019s government has been under a state of emergency since groups attacked the country\u2019s largest prison in Port-au-Prince earlier this month, killing and injuring police and prison staff and allowing some 3,500 inmates to escape. <\/p>\n

One gang leader, Jimmy \u201cBarbecue\u201d Cherizier, took credit for the attack and said the jailbreak was an attempt to overthrow Henry\u2019s government. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf Ariel Henry doesn\u2019t step down, if the international community continues to support Ariel Henry, they will lead us directly into a civil war that will end in genocide,\u201d Cherizier told Reuters in Port-au-Prince last week. <\/p>\n

Gangs now control 80% of Haiti\u2019s capital, according to United Nations estimates, and continue to fight for the rest. While Henry was out of the country, gangs laid siege to the country\u2019s main airport to prevent his safe return. Looters and protesters also breached the key Caribbean Port Services terminal in Port-au-Prince, though it has since come back under the control of Haitian security forces, according to the National Port Authority CEO Jocelin Villier. <\/p>\n

The chaos has forced tens of thousands to flee their homes, adding to the more than 300,000 already displaced by gang violence. <\/p>\n

While security has deteriorated in recent months, Haiti has for years suffered chronic violence, political crises and drought, leaving some 5.5 million Haitians \u2013 about half the population \u2013 in need of humanitarian assistance. <\/p>\n

The UN estimates about 1 million Haitian children are out of school, making those who live in gang-controlled areas prey to being recruited. The country has also been wracked by a cholera epidemic that broke out in 2022. <\/p>\n

The UN\u2019s human rights chief Volker T\u00fcrk described the situation in Haiti as \u201cuntenable\u201d and called for a multinational security mission to be deployed to assist the Haitian police. \u201cThere is no realistic alternative available to protect lives,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI want to change my way of life,\u201d he said, holding back tears. <\/p>\n

This story has been updated with additional developments.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n

This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The embattled prime minister of Haiti, Ariel\u00a0Henry, has said he will resign after weeks of mounting chaos in the Caribbean nation, where gangs have been attacking\u00a0government structures\u00a0and social order is on the brink of collapse. Henry said in a video address late Monday that his government would leave power after the establishment of a transitional <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":16911,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-16910","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16910\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}