Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced his resignation amidst chaos and gang violence, handing power to a transitional council to restore order. Finance Minister Michael Patrick Boisvert becomes interim prime minister until a new government is formed. A transitional council will appoint a new prime minister and cabinet, exercising presidential powers until a new president is inaugurated by February 7, 2026. The Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) supports the council's formation as a step towards Haiti's stability. Gang violence has disrupted vital supply lines, leading to a humanitarian crisis with hunger spreading in the country.
Gang violence in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, has led to thousands being displaced, seeking refuge in government buildings. Families face scarcity of basic supplies, limited medical care, and constant danger. US citizens are being evacuated amid reports of escalating violence. The interim Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, plans to resign amidst pressure. Negotiations are ongoing to establish a transitional council to lead Haiti towards new elections following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021.
Haiti's powerful gang leader, Jimmy Cherizier, known as Barbecue, stated that armed groups would consider laying down weapons if included in talks to establish a new government. Cherizier's group, Viv Ansanm, controls 80% of Port-au-Prince. The country has been without a prime minister since March, with gangs exploiting the power vacuum. A Presidential Transitional Council aims to restore democracy with Caribbean nations and the US support. Cherizier seeks a seat at the negotiating table to lower violence and criticizes the exclusion of groups like his from the government.
Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, is engulfed in violence as gang leader Jimmy Cherizier orders his men to burn houses and clash with the police amidst a power struggle. Over 360,000 people are displaced, and millions are hungry due to blocked supply routes. Cherizier's gang aims to control the nation during a transition period, with fears of a coup as he unifies gangs against the government. The situation worsens as the gangs attack institutions and orchestrate violence, with the UN describing Haiti as at a breaking point.
Michel Patrick Boisvert is a Haitian civil servant and politician who has served as Minister of Economy and Finance since 2020, in the cabinets of Joseph Jouthe, Claude Joseph, and Ariel Henry. Boisvert previously served as director-general of the Ministry of Economy and Finance from 2018 to 2020. Amid the February–March 2024 escalation of the gang war in Haiti, Boisvert has served as acting prime minister, overseeing the operations of Henry's government during his absence from the country. Following Henry’s formal resignation on 25 April 2024, Boisvert continued to serve as acting prime minister of Haiti. Boisvert had also served as acting president of Haiti for a few minutes on 25 April 2024 immediately following Henry’s formal resignation until the formal swearing in of the Transitional Presidential Council a few minutes later.
The president of Haiti (Haitian Creole: Prezidan peyi Ayiti, French: Président d'Haïti), officially called the president of the Republic of Haiti (French: Président de la République d'Haïti, Haitian Creole: Prezidan Repiblik Ayiti, pronounced [pɣɛzidan ɣepiblika ajiti]), is the head of state of Haiti. Executive power in Haiti is divided between the president and the government, which is headed by the prime minister of Haiti.[A133] Prime Minister Ariel Henry currently serves as Acting President following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse on 7 July 2021.
The UN's top human rights expert on Haiti, William O'Neill, has expressed grave concern over Haiti's situation resembling Somalia in its worst times due to a criminal uprising displacing tens of thousands and isolating the capital city. The violence has led to the closure of the international airport, evacuation of foreigners by helicopter, and daily attacks by heavily armed gangs on various institutions. More than 1,500 people have been killed in the first three months of 2024, a significant increase from the previous year's total of 4,451 deaths.
Gunmen looted homes in Laboule and Thomassin, upscale neighborhoods in Haiti's capital, leaving at least 12 bodies in Petion-Ville, as gang violence continues despite Prime Minister Ariel Henry's resignation announcement. Political parties in Haiti are in internal disputes over the formation of a transitional council, delaying the deployment of a UN-backed Kenyan police force. The government extended a nighttime curfew to curb violence. The situation in Haiti is described as horrific, with hospitals closing and pregnant women at risk. Humanitarian needs are critical, with millions struggling to find food, water, and shelter.
Aid workers, doctors, and missionaries in Haiti are sounding the alarm on rising hunger levels due to political deadlock and gang violence, with reports of people going a week without food in gang-controlled areas. The country's capital, Port-au-Prince, is facing a severe shortage of food, impacting livelihoods and creating a dire situation for at least 58,000 malnourished children. With the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry and a delayed security mission, the crisis worsens as nearly 5 million people suffer from acute food insecurity, making it Haiti's worst humanitarian crisis since the 2010 earthquake.
Over 53,000 people have fled Haiti's capital in less than three weeks to escape gang violence, with the majority heading to the rural southern region, causing concerns about infrastructure and resources, as stated in a United Nations report. Gangs in Haiti have attacked government institutions, burned police stations, and released thousands of inmates from prisons, resulting in over 1,500 deaths and 17,000 homeless individuals. The violence has prompted Prime Minister Ariel Henry to announce his resignation. The mass migration from Port-au-Prince is expected to continue.
The United States has evacuated non-essential embassy staff from Haiti and increased security at their mission in Port-au-Prince due to escalating gang violence, with recent attacks on the airport, police stations, and prisons. There are calls for Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry's removal, and a state of emergency has been extended. Despite the evacuation, the embassy remains open. Attempts by Mr. Henry to return to Haiti were thwarted due to airport closures after soldiers fended off gunmen. He visited Kenya to discuss a deal for Kenyan police to assist in restoring order in Haiti.
US officials urge Ariel Henry to set up an inclusive governance structure that will stem violence and lead to elections. The United States says it is not pressuring Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry to step down amid a fresh wave of violence and soaring instability in the Caribbean nation, where powerful gang leaders are demanding Henrys resignation. During a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Washington is not calling on him [Henry] or pushing for him to resign. However, Miller told reporters that the US is urging Henry to expedite the transition to an empowered and inclusive governance structure that will move with urgency to help the country prepare for a multinational security support mission. That mission , which has the backing of the United Nations but has been stalled for months, will then address the security situation and pave the way for free and fair elections in Haiti, Miller said.
Warlord Jimmy "Barbecue" Cherizier lost a top commander, Ti Greg, in a shootout, escalating gang violence in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince. The city is in the grips of a civil war involving over 200 gangs, a weak police force, and citizen-led death squads. As the country faces unrest and political instability, a transitional council is being formed to take over presidential powers from the absent government, with reports of political groups finalizing the council despite ongoing gang violence.
The Senate confirmed Dennis Hankins as the US ambassador to Haiti in a bipartisan 89-1 vote, amid escalating gang violence in Haiti leading to tens of thousands fleeing their homes. Hankins, a longtime diplomat with nearly four decades of experience in the State Department, steps into the role to assess the urgent needs in Haiti, where the capital, Port-au-Prince, has been under attack by violent gangs. His confirmation comes as Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced his resignation in the midst of chaos. The US has deployed security forces to support the embassy and aid in the peaceful transition of power.
Amid gang violence and chaos in Haiti, leading to 5 million people in need of humanitarian aid and 362,000 internally displaced, the Dominican Republic tightens border security. Gangs control 80% of Port-au-Prince, forcing 17,000 to flee following the resignation of Haiti's interim Prime Minister. Dominican President calls for joint action to save Haiti. Despite the crisis, Haitian refugees are not allowed into the Dominican Republic, with most intending to stay in Haiti.
In March 2024, armed gangs stormed the two largest prisons in Haiti, resulting in around 3,700 inmates escaping. The gangs demanded that prime minister Ariel Henry resign. The Haitian government declared a 72-hour state of emergency and a nighttime curfew in Ouest Department in an attempt to curb the violence and chaos.
Haiti's National Police agency recovered a hijacked cargo ship loaded with rice after a five-hour gunbattle with gangs, resulting in injuries to two police officers and casualties among the gang members. The hijacking involved two gangs, the 5 Seconds and the Taliban gang, who seized the ship and stole 10,000 sacks of rice. The ongoing violence in Haiti, including attacks on key infrastructure, led to the Prime Minister announcing his resignation. The U.S., particularly Florida, has been identified as a key source of weapons being sent into Haiti, according to a 2023 UN report.
Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry's plane landed in Puerto Rico as Port-au-Prince faces a crisis with coordinated gang attacks leading to a state of emergency and displacement of thousands. Henry was in Kenya when violence erupted, and a Kenyan-led mission of 1,000 police officers was agreed upon to restore security in Haiti. The deteriorating security situation includes kidnappings, killings, violence against women and children, and looting, prompting the Dominican Republic to suspend flights to and from Haiti.
Ariel Henry (French pronunciation: [aʁjɛl ɑ̃ʁi]; born 6 November 1949) is a Haitian neurosurgeon and politician who has served as the acting prime minister of Haiti since 20 July 2021 after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. He later became involved in a controversy due to his refusal to cooperate with the authorities over his links with Joseph-Félix Badio, one of the suspects accused of orchestrating the assassination of President Moïse on 7 July 2021. Officers who investigated the case suspected Henry was involved with planning the assassination.
Haiti is a free market economy with low labor costs. A republic, it was a French colony before gaining independence in an uprising by its enslaved people. It faced embargoes and isolation after its independence as well as political crises punctuated by foreign interventions and devastating natural disasters. Haiti's estimated population in 2018 was 11,439,646. The Economist reported in 2010:"Long known as the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, Haiti has stumbled from one crisis to another since the Duvalier (François Duvalier) years."Haiti has an agricultural economy. Over half of the world's vetiver oil (an essential oil used in high-end perfumes) comes from Haiti. Bananas, cocoa, and mangoes are important export crops. Haiti has also moved to expand to higher-end manufacturing, producing Android-based tablets and current sensors and transformers. Its major trading partner is the United States (US), which provides the country with preferential trade access to the US market through the Haiti Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) and the Haiti Economic Lift Program Encouragement Acts (HELP) legislation.Vulnerability to natural disasters, as well as poverty and limited access to education are among Haiti's most serious disadvantages. Two-fifths of all Haitians depend on the agriculture sector, mainly small-scale subsistence farming, and remain vulnerable to damage from frequent natural disasters, exacerbated by the country's widespread deforestation. Haiti suffers from a severe trade deficit, which it is working to address by moving into higher-end manufacturing and more value-added products in the agriculture sector. Remittances are the primary source of foreign exchange, equaling nearly 20% of GDP. Haiti's economy was severely impacted by the 2010 Haiti earthquake which occurred on 12 January 2010.
Arriving in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, the sheer scale of the poverty takes your breath away. The streets are teeming with people but everywhere is shrouded in acrid smoke from piles of burning rubbish. From the hills above Port-au-Prince, the city at times disappears in a fog of polluted air. Wherever you walk people ask for money. Beggars trudge amid the crowds, unemployment is high and kidnapping of anyone - not just the rich - is a constant fear.
The Biden administration deported about 50 Haitians back to their country, marking the first deportation flight in months to Haiti, which is struggling with surging gang violence. The Homeland Security Department enforces U.S. laws in the Caribbean region and Southwest border. Deportees face challenges in Haiti's violent and unstable conditions, with gangs controlling much of the country. The U.S. has operated deportation flights to Haiti and faced criticism for sending deportees back to dangerous situations. Critics condemn the deportations as reckless and cruel, putting individuals at risk of harm from armed gangs.
The head of one of Haiti's most powerful gangs, and the de-facto head of a consortium of gangs that have brought Port-au-Prince to a standstill has told Sky News he would consider a ceasefire and talks on the political future of the country if they were included. But Jimmy Cherizier, known universally as "Barbecue", has predicted that more violence is imminent, adding that a recent halt in the fighting is purely a technical pause. "There is nothing calm, but when you're fighting you have to know when to advance and when to retreat," he said. "I think every day that passes we are coming up with a new strategy so we can advance, but there's nothing calm. "In the days that are coming things will get worse than they are now.
The Secretariat of the Caribbean Community is the principal administrative organ for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and is headed by the secretary general, who is the chief executive officer of the community.The mission statement of the secretariat is: "To provide dynamic leadership and service in partnership with Community Institutions and groups, toward the attainment of a viable, internationally competitive and sustainable Community, with improved quality of life for all."
The Haiti indemnity controversy involves an 1825 agreement between Haiti and France that included France demanding an indemnity of 150 million francs to be paid by Haiti in claims over property – including Haitian slaves – that was lost through the Haitian Revolution in return for diplomatic recognition, with the debt removing $21 billion from the Haitian economy. The first annual payment alone was six times Haiti's annual revenue. The payment was later reduced to 90 million francs in 1838, equivalent to $32,535,940,803 in 2022, with Haiti paying about 112 million francs in total. Over the 122 years between 1825 and 1947, the debt severely hampered Haitian economic development as payments of interest and downpayments totaled a significant share of Haitian GDP, constraining the use of domestic financial funds for infrastructure and public services.France's demand of payments in exchange for recognizing Haiti's independence was delivered to the country by several French warships in 1825, twenty-one years after Haiti's declaration of independence in 1804. Due to the unrealistic demands pushed by France, Haiti was forced to take large loans from French bank Crédit Industriel et Commercial, enriching the bank's shareholders. Though France received its last indemnity payment in 1888, the government of the United States funded the acquisition of Haiti's treasury in 1911 in order to receive interest payments related to the indemnity. In 1922, the rest of Haiti's debt to France was moved to be paid to American investors. It took until 1947 – about 122 years – for Haiti to finally pay off all the associated interest to the National City Bank of New York (now Citibank). In 2016, the Parliament of France repealed the 1825 ordinance of Charles X, though no reparations have been offered by France. These debts have been denounced by some historians and activists as Guilty of Haiti's Poverty today and a case of odious debt, although others point to the lack of growth relative to the neighbouring Dominican Republic, even since the debt was repaid, as evidence for other factors. In 2022, The New York Times published a dedicated investigative series on the topic.
Haiti ( HAY-tee; French: Haïti [a.iti]; Haitian Creole: Ayiti [ajiti]), officially the Republic of Haiti (French: République d'Haïti; Haitian Creole: Repiblik d Ayiti), and formerly known as Hayti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island which it shares with the Dominican Republic. To its south-west lies the small Navassa Island, which is claimed by Haiti but is disputed as a United States territory under federal administration. Haiti is 27,750 km2 (10,714 sq mi) in size, the third largest country in the Caribbean by area, and has an estimated population of 11.4 million, making it the most populous country in the Caribbean and the 5th most populous country in North America. The capital is Port-au-Prince.The island was originally inhabited by the indigenous Taíno people, who originated in South America. The first Europeans arrived on 5 December 1492 during the first voyage of Christopher Columbus. Columbus subsequently founded the first European settlement in the Americas, La Navidad, on what is now the northeastern coast of Haiti. The island was claimed by Spain and named La Española, forming part of the Spanish Empire until the early 17th century. However, competing claims and settlements by the French led to the western portion of the island being ceded to France in 1697, which was subsequently named Saint-Domingue. French colonists established lucrative sugarcane plantations, worked by vast numbers of slaves brought from Africa, which made the colony one of the richest in the world.In the midst of the French Revolution (1789–99), slaves, maroons, and free people of color launched the Haitian Revolution (1791–1804), led by a former slave and the second black general of the French Army (the first being Thomas-Alexandre Dumas), Toussaint Louverture. After 12 years of conflict, Napoleon Bonaparte's forces were defeated by Louverture's successor, Jean-Jacques Dessalines (later Emperor Jacques I), who declared Haiti's sovereignty on 1 January 1804, leading to the massacre of the French. The country thus became the first independent nation of Latin America and the Caribbean, the second republic in the Americas, the first country in the Americas to eliminate slavery, and the only state in history established by a successful slave revolt. Apart from Alexandre Pétion, the first President of the Republic, all of Haiti's first leaders were former slaves. After a brief period in which the country was split in two, President Jean-Pierre Boyer united the country and then attempted to expand Haitian influence over the eastern part of Hispaniola, which eventually led to the Haitian–Dominican Wars. Haiti recognized Dominican independence in 1867, following their declaration in 1844.Haiti's first century of independence was characterized by political instability, ostracism by the international community, and the payment of a crippling debt to France. Political volatility and foreign economic influence in the country prompted the United States to occupy the country from 1915 to 1934. Following a series of short-lived presidencies, François 'Papa Doc' Duvalier took power in 1957, ushering in a long period of autocratic rule continued by his son, Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier, that lasted until 1986; the period was characterized by state-sanctioned violence against the opposition and civilians, corruption, and economic stagnation. After 1986, Haiti began attempting to establish a more democratic political system.Haiti is a founding member of the United Nations, Organization of American States (OAS), Association of Caribbean States, and the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. In addition to CARICOM, it is a member of the International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization, and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. Historically poor and politically unstable, Haiti has the lowest Human Development Index in the Americas, as well as widespread slavery. Since the turn of the 21st century, the country has endured a coup d'état, which prompted U.N. intervention, as well as a catastrophic earthquake that killed over 250,000 people and a cholera outbreak. With its deteriorating economic situation, as well as recent calls by the IMF to cut fuel subsidies, Haiti has been experiencing a socioeconomic and political crisis marked by riots and protests, widespread hunger, and increased gang activity. As of February 2023, Haiti has no remaining elected government officials and has been described as a failed state.
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM or CC) is an intergovernmental organisation that is a political and economic union of 15 member states (14 nation-states and one dependency) throughout the Americas and Atlantic Ocean. They have primary objectives to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared, and coordinate foreign policy. The organisation was established in 1973, with its four founding members signing the Treaty of Chaguaramas. Its primary activities involve:Coordinating economic policies and development planning.Devising and instituting special projects for the less-developed countries within its jurisdiction.Operating as a regional single market for many of its members (Caricom Single Market).Handling regional trade disputes.The secretariat headquarters is in Georgetown, Guyana. CARICOM is an official United Nations Observer beneficiary.CARICOM was established by the English-speaking parts of the Caribbean and currently includes all the independent Anglophone island countries plus Belize, Guyana and Montserrat, as well as all other British Caribbean territories and Bermuda as associate members. English was its sole working language into the 1990s. The organisation became multilingual with the addition of Dutch-speaking Suriname in 1995 and the French and Haitian Creole-speaking Haiti in 2002. Furthermore, it added Spanish as the fourth official language in 2003. In July 2012, CARICOM announced they considered making French and Dutch official languages. In 2001, the heads of government signed a revised Treaty of Chaguaramas that cleared the way to transform the idea of a common market CARICOM into the Caribbean (CARICOM) Single Market and Economy. Part of the revised treaty establishes and implements the Caribbean Court of Justice.
A member state of the Caribbean Community is a state that has been specified as a member state within the Treaty of Chaguaramas or any other Caribbean state that is in the opinion of the Conference, able and willing to exercise the rights and assume the obligations of membership in accordance with article 29 of the Treaty of Chaguaramas. Member states are designated as either More economically developed country (MDCs) or Less economically developed countries (LDCs). These designations are not intended to create disparity among member states. The Community was established by mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, but has since become a multilingual organisation in practice with the addition of Dutch-speaking Suriname in 1995 and French-speaking Haiti in 2002. There are fifteen full members of the Caribbean Community, four of which are founding members.
Haitians (French: Haïtiens, Haitian Creole: Ayisyen) are the citizens of Haiti and the descendants in the diaspora through direct parentage. An ethnonational group, Haitians generally comprise the modern descendants of self-liberated Africans in the Caribbean territory historically referred to as Saint-Domingue. This includes the mulatto minority who denote corresponding European ancestry, notably from French settlers. By virtue of historical distinction, the vast majority of Haitians share and identify with this common African lineage, though a small number are descendants of contemporary immigrants from the Levant who sought refuge in the island nation during World War I and World War II.
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
ABC News
AP News
CBS News
Washington Post
ABC News
NBC
Fox News
Rob Picheta
Al Jazeera
PANORA
PANORA
PANORA
Wikipedia
Wikipedia
PANORA
PANORA
PANORA
PANORA
PANORA
PANORA
PANORA
PANORA
PANORA
Wikipedia
PANORA
PANORA
Wikipedia
Wikipedia
PANORA
PANORA
PANORA
Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia