Henry’s remaining cabinet meanwhile chose economy and finance minister, Michel Patrick Boisvert, as the interim prime minister.
Ariel Henry has resigned as the prime minister of Haiti, making the way clear for a new government to be formed in the Caribbean country, which has been wrecked by gang violence that killed or injured more than 2,500 people from January to March.
Henry presented his resignation in a letter dated April 24, and released on Thursday by his office on the same day that a council tasked with choosing a new prime minister and Cabinet for Haiti was sworn in.
Henry’s remaining cabinet meanwhile chose economy and finance minister, Michel Patrick Boisvert, as the interim prime minister.
It was not immediately clear when the transitional council would select its own PM.
The council was installed more than a month after Caribbean leaders announced its creation following an emergency meeting to tackle Haiti’s spiraling crisis.
Henry had pledged to resign once the council was installed.
The nine-member council, of which seven have voting powers, is also expected to help set the agenda of a new cabinet.
It would also appoint a provisional electoral commission, a requirement before elections could take place, and establish a national security council.
The council’s non-renewable mandate expires February 7, 2026, at which date a new president is scheduled to be sworn in.
Gangs launched coordinated attacks that began on February 29 in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and surrounding areas.
They burned police stations and hospitals, opened fire on the main international airport that has remained closed since early March and stormed Haiti’s two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates. Gangs also have severed access to Haiti’s biggest port.
The onslaught began while Prime Minister Henry was on an official visit to Kenya to push for a U.N.-backed deployment of a police force from the East African country. He remains locked out of Haiti.
“Port-au-Prince is now almost completely sealed off because of air, sea and land blockades,” Catherine Russell, UNICEF director said earlier this week.
The international community has urged the council to prioritise Haiti’s widespread insecurity. Even before the attacks began, gangs already controlled 80% of Port-au-Prince.
The number of people killed in early 2024 was up by more than 50% compared with the same period last year, according to a recent UN report.