Gangs pressing prime minister to step down
An alliance of armed gangs is pressing Haiti's prime minister to resign, placing the United States in the middle of a power struggle gripping the country. Aiming to ease the standoff, the Biden administration is increasing pressure on Prime Minister Ariel Henry to enable a transfer of power.
The U.S. was not actively “calling on him or pushing for him to resign,” Matthew Miller, a spokesperson for the State Department, said. But, he added, “we are urging him to expedite the transition to an empowered and inclusive governance structure.”
The impasse points to a major inflection point in Haiti, which has been plagued by nearly perpetual crises over the past several years, as tempers flare in the country of 11.5 million people over spreading unrest, food shortages and a lack of progress in moving toward democratic elections and restoring a sense of security.
The standoff emerged after Henry, who has been backed by the United States since becoming Haiti's de facto leader after the assassination in 2021 of President Jovenel Moïse, was unable to return to Haiti on Tuesday because of doubts over safely landing at the airport in the capital, Portau-Prince, which has been targeted in recent days by gang assaults.
Henry, after landing instead in Puerto Rico on Tuesday, has not made any public statements about his whereabouts or plans to return to Haiti. In the meantime, as scenes of looting and disarray have many people in Port-auPrince on edge, gang leaders have rushed to fill a power vacuum.
“If Ariel Henry doesn't resign, if the international community continues to support him, we're heading straight for a civil war,” Jimmy Chérizier, a top gang leader and former police officer known more widely as Barbecue, told reporters in Port-auPrince on Tuesday.
Chérizier and other gang leaders have gone on a rampage around Portau-Prince, clashing with police and attacking the airport, bank offices, government buildings and prisons, including the country's largest penitentiary, allowing thousands of inmates to escape.
While different gangs appear to be behind the latest wave of unrest, security experts warn that any alliances tend to be fluid and subject to change. It is not clear whether gang leaders are pressing to have a specific role in governing the country.
Gunfire could be heard around different parts of Port-au-Prince early Wednesday morning despite a curfew aimed at keeping people off the streets outside normal business hours. At least one court building was partially burned Wednesday, and the airport remained closed.
The deteriorating security situation is limiting the choices available to the United States, which has traditionally held immense sway in Haiti's politics. The Biden administration has made it clear that there are no plans to deploy U.S. soldiers to Haiti to assert order.
A U.S. government official said that CARICOM, a union of 15 Caribbean countries, has been at the forefront of calls demanding the Haitian prime minister resign immediately, whereas the United States has felt that it had to back Henry as he provided the best chance of ensuring an orderly transition and election process.