Prime Minister of Haiti Ariel Henry Officially Resigns Amid Chaos: Latest Updates

The Prime Minister of Haiti, Ariel Henry, has officially resigned. He confirmed his departure in a short letter, dated April 24 and written in Los Angeles. The letter was shared by his government on social media today.

Henry had to stay in Puerto Rico since the end of February. Two weeks ago he already announced resign if there is one transitional council and an interim prime minister was appointed. The transitional council, which has nine members, will be sworn in today. Henry’s former Finance Minister, Patrick Boisvert, will immediately start as interim Prime Minister of Haiti.

The transitional council has a mandate until February 7, 2026, when a new prime minister must be appointed on that date. Before then, elections must be called and a new electoral commission appointed. The council could also help determine what the new government’s plans should look like.

According to Henry, his government was “serving the country in difficult times”. Haiti has long suffered from gang violence and poverty. Earlier this year there was an explosion of violence: armed groups took over the international airport, stormed the country’s largest prison and set fire to police stations and hospitals in the capital Port-au-Prince. au-Prince.

Henry was in Kenya at the time to negotiate a contract for a UN mission to Haiti to control gang violence. After that the Prime Minister could not return to his country. Gang leaders asked him to leave immediately.

The situation in Haiti remains chaotic. More than 100,000 residents have fled the capital since the violence began. Thousands more live in makeshift shelters in the city. “Port-au-Prince is currently almost completely closed and cannot be reached by sea or air due to restrictions,” the director of Unicef ​​said this week.