PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti: Talks to create a transitional council to govern Haiti advanced Wednesday as the United States moves more citizens to safety from the gang violence that has plunged the country into chaos.
Haiti has been hit by escalating violence since militants stormed a prison in February and demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry and the release of thousands of prisoners.
Prime Minister Henry last week agreed to resign and allow a transitional government to form, but talks have been slow despite pressure from the United States and neighboring Caribbean countries.
“Discussions continue. I’m sure it will take a little bit of time, But from all indications, it’s moving along,” said Caroline Rodriguez Burkett, Guyana’s ambassador to the United Nations.
According to Haitian government officials, amid protracted negotiations between political parties, the list of council members had not yet been handed over to outgoing Prime Minister Henri.
President Juvenal Moyes, who appointed Henry, was assassinated in 2021 and was not replaced. The council will appoint an interim prime minister to oversee the country’s first elections since 2016.
Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, has been overrun by armed groups for weeks, attacking police stations, power plants, buildings and public facilities, leaving the streets littered with corpses.
Gun violence broke out again on the outskirts of the capital on Tuesday and Wednesday, with locals blocking roads to prevent gangs from approaching and to protect themselves, residents said.
The violence has worsened the dire humanitarian situation with warnings of starvation, malnutrition and the collapse of basic services.
The United States airlifted more citizens from Port-au-Prince to the neighboring Dominican Republic by helicopter on Wednesday.
State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters that the helicopter movement was expected to make several round trips to rescue as many Americans as possible.
Meanwhile, Henry is stuck in Puerto Rico after the gangs’ coordinated attacks began while he was visiting Kenya to try to nail down a plan for Nairobi to lead a UN-approved police force to restore order his country.
