Haiti's transitional council elects new prime minister to subdue surging violence

By VOA News April 30, 2024

Haiti's transitional council on Tuesday elected Fritz Belizaire, a former youth and sports minister, as the country's new prime minister.

The council, which is leading the chaotic Caribbean nation, chose Belizaire during a ceremony in the capital, Port-au-Prince, following the March resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

Michel Patrick Boisvert, former finance minister, was filling the role on an interim basis.

The seven-member voting body was sworn in last week to restore security to the dysfunctional country.

Haiti plunged into instability after a plane carrying Henry was forced to land in the U.S. Caribbean territory of Puerto Rico when it was denied entry into the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti.

Henry had departed Haiti the week before to attend the CARICOM Leaders summit in the South American nation of Guyana and then traveled to the west African nation of Kenya to sign a bi-lateral accord authorizing the deployment of a Kenyan-led multinational United Nations Security Support force (MSS) to Haiti.

The gangs used Henry's absence to attack the national penitentiary and another prison in Port-au-Prince, killing several people and allowing thousands of inmates to escape into the city. Gangs also staged shooting attacks on Haiti's main airport.

Henry was due to step down in February but had delayed elections due to the worsening security situation and a political stalemate with opposition forces.

Henry announced he would resign on March 11 once the Transitional Presidential Council was in place. Henry officially resigned on April 25. The council's mandate ends in February 2026, when new elections are slated to take place.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse.