Haiti’s security crisis has reached breaking point. An alliance of armed gangs is forcing the country’s prime minister to resign, plunging the United States into a power struggle engulfing the country. In an effort to ease the impasse, the Biden administration is increasing pressure on Prime Minister Ariel Henry to effect a transfer of power.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the United States was not actively “calling for him or pushing for his resignation.” But, he added, “we urge him to accelerate the transition to empowering and inclusive governance structures.”
The standoff marks a major turning point for Haiti, which has been gripped by a near-constant crisis over the past few years as spreading unrest, food shortages and a lack of progress toward democracy have led to heightened emotions in the country of 11.5 million people. elections and the restoration of a sense of security.
Mr Henry, who has been backed by the United States since becoming Haiti’s de facto leader following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, was unable to return to Haiti on Tuesday due to doubts about his ability to land safely at Haitian airports , which triggered a deadlock. The capital, Port-au-Prince, has been the target of gang attacks in recent days.
Henry has not made any public statements about his whereabouts or plans to return to Haiti after arriving in Puerto Rico on Tuesday. Meanwhile, gang leaders scramble to fill the power vacuum as scenes of looting and chaos unnerve many in Port-au-Prince.
“If Ariel Henry does not resign, and if the international community continues to support him, we will go straight to civil war,” gang leader and former police officer Jimmy Sherizil told reporters at the port. -Tuesday, Prince.
Cherizil and other gang leaders have rampaged across Port-au-Prince over the past week, clashing with police and attacking airports, bank offices, government buildings and prisons, including the country’s largest, causing thousands of inmates to flee. .
The deteriorating security situation limits the options of the United States, which has historically had outsized influence in Haitian politics. The Biden administration has made clear it has no plans to send U.S. troops to Haiti to maintain order.
“We are asking the Haitian prime minister to move forward with the political process, establish a presidential transition committee, and hold elections,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas Greenfield told reporters on Wednesday. “We think this is urgent – he urgently needs to move in this direction and start the process of getting the Haitian people back to normal.”
A U.S. government official said CARICOM, a group of 15 Caribbean countries, has been at the forefront of calls for Haiti’s prime minister to resign immediately, while the United States believes they must support Mr. Henry because he offers the best chance of ensuring order. transitional and electoral processes.
The official, who spoke backstage to discuss the sensitive issue, added that the United States has no other Haitian partner that could replace Henry. The official said calling for the prime minister to resign immediately would only create more chaos in a country already on the brink of collapse.
“Now they are in an even more unacceptable predicament, with no way out and no choice but to crisis,” Robert Farton, a Haiti expert at the University of Virginia, said of the Biden administration’s choices on Haiti. The gangs have an overwhelming advantage.”
Gang-driven violence has worsened an already severe humanitarian crisis in Haiti. U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said some 15,000 people had been forced from their homes in the past few days as violence escalated, including many who were already displaced.
Widespread hunger is another pressing issue, with some 1.4 million people in the country currently facing emergency levels of hunger, according to the World Food Program.
Overall, “nearly half the population requires humanitarian assistance,” said Mr. Griffiths, who is also the United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs. “The crisis in Haiti is worsening at an alarming rate.”
The deepening sense of chaos in Haiti has also raised doubts about Kenya’s plans to lead a security mission to Haiti, which the Biden administration has been pushing for the past year. Mr Henry flew to Nairobi last week and signed the agreement with Kenyan authorities on Friday.
Under the plan, Kenya will provide at least 1,000 police officers for the mission, with the United States pledging $200 million in support and Canada pledging nearly $60 million in support. Other countries including Benin, Chad, Bangladesh and Barbados have also committed personnel to the mission.
“The agreement was signed by people who have no legitimacy,” said Monique Kleisca, a Haitian democracy activist and former United Nations official. He stressed that the currently inoperative Haitian parliament and its future leaders may need to approve the agreement. Agreement forward mission.
Michael Crowley, Natalie Kitrov, David C. Adams, Andre Poulter and Francis Robles Contributed reporting.