MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Haiti's PM in Puerto Rico, not resigning, for now

The international community still recognizes Henry as Haiti's PM but gang leader “Barbecue” wants him out

Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry has sought shelter in Puerto Rico after his aircraft was denied a landing clearance by the Dominican Republic, it was reported Wednesday. Henry is unable to return to Port-au-Prince where gang groups threaten that a bloodbath will occur should he refuse to resign.

 Henry had pledged to leave his office in February but then changed his mind claiming that security should be granted before holding free elections.

The Prime Minister left his country last week on a tour to Guyana for a Caribbean Community and Common Market (Caricom) summit followed by a trip to Kenya to sign an agreement whereby the African nation would get involved in law enforcement and peacekeeping tasks in Haiti.

In Henry’s absence, gangs stormed the country's main prison, killing many guards and allowing thousands of inmates to escape. The rebels also attacked s on Haiti’s main airport. Gang leader and former police officer Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier told reporters that Henry would not be allowed back. In this scenario, a state of emergency was declared and a nighttime curfew was imposed.

US authorities urged Henry to set up an ‘inclusive governance structure’ to curb violence and lead to elections, it was reported in Washington DC. The US is “not calling on him or pushing for him to resign,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said. He also 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” with the backing of the United Nations.

Miller thus denied reports on The Miami Herald's version Wednesday that the State Department had asked Henry to agree to a new transitional government and resign. UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Henry was still regarded as prime minister. Diplomats are “not in the business of encouraging him to resign,” he added.

A 74-year-old neurosurgeon, Henry was sworn in as Haiti’s prime minister in July 2021, less than two weeks after President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated. Moïse had chosen Henry for the post shortly before he was killed, triggering months of political instability and gang violence.

In Kenya, Henry discussed with President William Ruto the UN-backed deployment of a police force to assist Haiti's ill-equipped law enforcement apparatus. However, such a move was ruled unconstitutional by a Kenyan court.

Schools and shops have closed in Port-au-Prince, most of which is under the control of the gangs, pushing some 15,000 Haitians to flee their homes, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Cherizier, leader of a gang known as G9, warned that “if Ariel Henry does not resign and if the international community continues to support him, “we’ll be heading straight for a civil war that will lead to genocide.”

Henry's whereabouts were not known Monday, three days after he signed a bilateral accord that paved the way for 1,000 Kenyan law enforcement officers to lead a UN-backed force. ”It is a mission for humanity,” he said. “It is a mission for solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Haiti,“ Ruto argued from Nairobi. “We believe this is a historic duty because peace in Haiti is good for the world as a whole,” he added.

Kenya’s High Court blocked the move in January, saying it was unconstitutional and could go forward only if there was a “reciprocal agreement” between the two nations.

Two of Haiti's main police unions called for assistance to stop prison inmates from escaping. There was no official data on how many of them managed to flee the penitentiary, but Gazette Haiti said the number was ”significant.” There were 3,687 detainees in a facility built to hold 700 prisoners, according to data from February last year. VOA journalists who went to the penitentiary in downtown Port-au-Prince saw bodies inside and outside the building. Only 99 inmates remained inside the jail, VOA said citing a source that wished to remain anonymous. There was no data on how many of them died during the jailbreak.

With schools and businesses still closed and the country's main airport closed, Haitian politicians started pursuing new alliances Wednesday. One of them involves former rebel leader Guy Philippe and ex-presidential candidate and senator Jean Charles Moïse, who told Radio Caraïbes on Wednesday that they signed a deal to form a three-person council to lead Haiti.

Philippe, a key figure in the 2004 rebellion that ousted former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, returned to Haiti in November and has been calling for Henry’s resignation. He spent several years in prison in the US after pleading guilty to a money laundering charge.