Interim Haitian prime minister Claude Joseph to step down

HAITI’S acting Prime Minister, Claude Joseph, whose leadership of the nation has been disputed since the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moise, told the Washington Post newspaper he would cede power yesterday.

Ariel Henry, who was appointed as prime minister by Moise two days before the assassination and who has been recently recognised as the “designated prime minister” by the international community, take over.

Joseph, who served as foreign minister under Moise and was serving as acting prime minister before Henry’s appointment, had to date refused to recognise Henry as the designated prime minister, arguing that Henry had not been sworn in at the time of Moise’s killing.

Joseph told the Washington Post that he and Henry had met privately over the past week, adding that he agreed to step down on Sunday “for the good of the nation.”

“Everyone who knows me knows that I am not interested in this battle, or in any kind of power grab,” Joseph said.

“The president was a friend to me. I am just interested in seeing justice for him,” Joseph added.

It is not immediately clear how quickly Joseph would step down, however.

“Negotiations are still on course,” Haiti Elections Minister Mathias Pierre said, according to the Associated Press, adding

that Joseph would go back to being minister of foreign affairs.

The change follows a statement Saturday from a key group of international diplomats that appeared to snub Joseph as it called for the creation of “a consensual and inclusive government.”

“To this end, it strongly encourages the designated Prime Minister Ariel Henry to continue the mission entrusted to him to form such a government,” the statement from the Core

Group said.

The Core Group is composed of ambassadors from Germany, Brazil, Canada, Spain, the U. S., France, the European Union and representatives from the United Nations and the Organization of American States.

The statement was issued hours after Moise’s wife, Martine, arrived in Haiti on Saturday aboard a private jet clad in black and wearing a bulletproof vest. She has not issued a statement or spoken publicly as the government prepares for the July 23 funeral that will be held in Cap- Haitien.

Moise, 53, was fatally shot when assassins armed with assault rifles stormed his private residence in the hills above Port- au- Prince on July 7. The assassination has pitched the already troubled nation into chaos, coming amid a surge in gang violence that has displaced thousands of people and hampered economic activity in the poorest country in the Americas.