After propping up Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry after the former leader was assassinated in 2021, the White House has now called on him to step down as opposition groups and gangs have taken control over Haiti’s capital city, Port-au-Prince.
“Heavy gunfire was seen on Friday near Haiti's national palace in its capital of Port-au-Prince, according to reports by news agency EFE, in the midst of political turmoil sparked by Prime Minister Ariel Henry's absence.
Haiti entered a state of emergency last Sunday after fighting escalated, armed gangs broke inmates out of prison , and an estimated over ten thousand people were displaced while Henry was in Kenya seeking a deal for an international force to fight Haiti's gangs.
The United States earlier this week called on Haiti's prime minister to expedite a political transition as armed gangs seek his ouster.
Henry, Haiti's unelected interim leader, landed in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico on Tuesday”. -Sarah Morland, Reuters
While it remains unclear if Henry has the ability to hold onto power without U.S. support, the larger concern is whether the U.N.-backed Kenya-led multinational police force tasked with bringing stability to the war-ridden Caribbean nation, which a Kenyan court has ruled is unconstitutional, will be deployed before a new Haitian prime minister and presidential board get ushered in.