Haiti's de facto prime minister, Ariel Henry, has resigned and a new transitional council has been sworn in in the capital of Port-au-Prince. Finance Minister Michel Patrick Boisvert has been appointed as the interim prime minister.
The nine-person transitional council, including seven who have voting powers, was sworn in during a small ceremony in the grounds of the National Palace, with few invited guests. Local news outlets published video of the moment in which the members of the council promised to protect constitution — as gunfire can be heard in the distance.
Première salutations officielles pour les membres du Conseil Présidentiel de Transition au palais national ce jeudi 25 avril 2024 pic.twitter.com/tqMS7KmWdS
— Frantz Duval (@Frantzduval) April 25, 2024
Gangs in Haiti had vowed to topple the government and keep the transitional council from taking power. The criminal gangs control most of the capital and have attacked the airport, police stations and other government installations, effectively cutting the capital off from the outside world for months now.
According to the United Nations' humanitarian office, there are more than 90,000 displaced people in the capital alone. The head of UNICEF, Catherine Russell, told the U.N. Security Council on Monday that 3 million children need humanitarian assistance. "The situation in Haiti is catastrophic, and it grows worse by the day," she said.
Haiti's now former prime minister, Henry, is currently in Los Angeles — unable to return to Haiti since leaving earlier this year. Henry had been on an official visit to Kenya trying to secure an international peacekeeping force, but the swell of gang-led violence in the Haitian capital meant he was unable to return. In March, he announced his intention to step down once a transitional council had been appointed.
The transitional council is expected to pave the way for an international peacekeeping force.
