Michel Patrick Boisvert (center), who was appointed interim prime minister by outgoing Prime Minister Ariel Henry, attends the swearing-in ceremony of the transitional council tasked with selecting Haiti’s new prime minister and cabinet, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Ramon Espinosa/AP
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Ramón Espinosa/AP
Michel Patrick Boisvert (center), who was appointed interim prime minister by outgoing Prime Minister Ariel Henry, attends the swearing-in ceremony of the transitional council tasked with selecting Haiti’s new prime minister and cabinet, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Ramón Espinosa/AP
Haiti’s de facto prime minister, Ariel Henry, He has resigned and a new transitional council has been sworn in in the capital, Port-au-Prince. Finance Minister Michel Patrick Boisvert has been named interim prime minister.
The transitional council, made up of nine people, seven of them with voting power, was sworn in during a small ceremony on the grounds of the National Palace, with few guests. Local media published video of the moment council members vowed to protect the constitution, while gunshots are heard in the distance.
First official greetings to the members of the Presidential Transition Council at the National Palace on April 25, 2024 pic.twitter.com/tqMS7KmWdS
-Frantz Duval (@Frantzduval) April 25, 2024
Gangs in Haiti had promised to lead the government and prevent the transitional council from taking power. Criminal gangs control most of the capital and have attacked the airport, police stations and other government facilities, effectively isolating the capital from the outside world for months.
According to the United Nations‘Humanitarian office, there are more than 90,000 displaced people in the capital alone. UNICEF Director Catherine Russell told the UN Security Council on Monday that 3 million children need humanitarian assistance. “The situation in Haiti is catastrophic and worsening day by day,” he said.
Haiti’s now former Prime Minister Henry is currently in Los Angeles, unable to return to Haiti since he left earlier this year. Henry had been on an official visit to Kenya trying to secure an international peacekeeping force, but rising gang-led violence in the Haitian capital prevented him from returning. In March, he announced his intention to resign once a transitional council had been appointed.
The transitional council is expected to pave the way for an international peacekeeping force.