Haiti’s Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, resigned on Thursday, the same day as the long-awaited Transitional Presidential Council started the process of selecting new leadership for the distressed nation.
Henry, who has been exiled in Puerto Rico for several months, was replaced by Finance Minister Michel Boisvert. The now-interim prime minister has overseen the country during the former leader’s absence.
"Haiti, our country, is at a crossroads in the search for solutions to overcome this multidimensional political crisis, that has lasted for so long, and the consequences of which are detrimental to the population, to property, and both public and private infrastructures," he said after being sworn in with sporadic gunfire audible in the background.
Boisvert will now try to work with the nine-member committee to try and quell the relentless disorder that has overcome Haitian society in the wake of the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.
The security crisis has seen criminal factions, on an almost daily basis, attack government buildings, loot businesses, take people hostage, and steal much-needed humanitarian aid. It is estimated that the violence has caused the government to lose control of as much as 80% of the area in the capital city of Port-au-Prince.
Several gang leaders have said that they would do what they could to disrupt the actions of the new governing authorities.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Brian Nichols, described the appointment of Boisvert as “a vital step in Haiti’s return to inclusive governance.”
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