US, other nations appear to snub Haiti’s interim PM
Claude Joseph has served as nation’s de facto leader
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — The question of who leads Haiti after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse gained a new dimension on Saturday, as a key group of international diplomats released a statement that appeared to show support for one hopeful vying for control of the country.
The statement released by the Core Group, an informal bloc of ambassadors and envoys that includes the United States, did not mention Claude Joseph, interim prime minister and Haiti’s effective leader.
Instead, emphasizing the need for a “consensual and inclusive government,” it called on “designated Prime Minister Ariel Henry to continue the mission entrusted to him to form such a government.”
By apparently snubbing Joseph and backing Henry, the Core Group appeared to be the first major international group to withdraw its support for Joseph — a move that surprised some observers given the tense political situation in Haiti.
In addition to the United States, the
Core Group is made up of ambassadors from Brazil, Canada, Spain, France, Germany, the European Union and representatives from the United Nations and Organization of American States.
Joseph has been serving as Haiti’s de facto leader since Moïse was assassinated July 7. A former academic, Joseph had been put in place as interim prime minister on April 14.
However, two days before he was killed, Moïse had selected Henry, a neurosurgeon, to become Haiti’s new prime minister. But Joseph says Henry was not sworn in before the slaying and that he would lead Haiti in what he called a “state of siege,” similar to martial law.
Aside from the interim prime minister and the designated prime minister, Joseph Lambert, a lawmaker who had led Haiti’s dismantled Senate, also claims to be leading Haiti. Lambert says he was named leader in a resolution adopted by a majority of the 10 remaining senators.
The Core Group statement is a departure from previous statements made by some of its members.
A day after Moïse was assassinated, State Department spokesman Ned Price said the United States would continue to work with Joseph as he was serving as acting prime minister before the slaying. A U.S. delegation that visited Haiti said that it met with Joseph, Henry and Lambert and encouraged them to work together to hold “free and fair elections,” White House national security council spokeswoman Emily Horne said on Monday.
The State Department did not respond to a request for comment.