Middle-East

Outgoing Haiti PM Ariel Henry welcome to stay in US: official

Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry (3rd-L) leaves the auditorium after speaking to students during a public lecture on bilateral engagement between Kenya and Haiti, at the United States International University (USIU) Africa, in Nairobi on March 1, 2024. (Photo: Simon Maina/ AFP)

By AFP | Tuesday, March 12, 2024

With gang leaders demanding his removal, and the neighbouring Dominican Republic not welcoming him, the United States allowed him to land in Puerto Rico, a US territory.

Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, stranded in Puerto Rico as his country descends into chaos, is welcome to stay on US soil after quitting in a bid to ease the crisis, a US official said late Monday.

The official also said that Henry confirmed his resignation in a telephone conversation Monday with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was in Jamaica for an emergency Caribbean meeting on Haiti.

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"From our standpoint, he is free to stay where he is, (and) he is free to travel," said the official, who accompanied Blinken back from the meeting in Jamaica.

The talks in Jamaica among Caribbean and regional leaders and remotely involving Haitian figures focused at length on the "importance of there not being reprisals against Prime Minister Henry or his allies," the official said on condition of anonymity.

"I think the situation will have to improve for him to feel comfortable returning to Haiti," the official said.

Henry had been flying back from Kenya, where he reached a deal for the East African nation to send security forces to Haiti to lead a force aimed at restoring order in Haiti.

As he was away, Haiti descended further into anarchy, with armed gangs rampaging, the airport shut down, and hospitals and other major infrastructure looted.

With gang leaders demanding his removal, and the neighbouring Dominican Republic not welcoming him, the United States allowed him to land in Puerto Rico, a US territory.

The official said that Henry had decided in principle to resign on Friday but that he waited for the announcement as the Jamaica talks worked out details of a transitional council that is set to take over.

Blinken confirmed his resignation in a phone call from the summit on Monday that was initiated by Mia Mottley, the prime minister of Barbados, the official said.