Haiti’s security crisis is reaching a breaking point. An alliance of armed gangs forces the country’s prime minister to resign, putting the United States in the middle of a power struggle that is gripping the country. Aiming to ease the standoff, the Biden administration is increasing pressure on Prime Minister Ariel Henry to facilitate a transition of power.
The United States is not actively “calling him or pushing him to resign,” said Matthew Miller, a spokesman for the State Department. But, he added, “we urge him to accelerate the transition to an empowered and inclusive governance structure.”
The disagreement points to a major turning point in Haiti, which has been plagued by near-constant crises in the past few years, as tempers have flared in the country of 11.5 million people over widespread unrest, food shortages and lack of progress in moving towards democratic elections and restoring a sense of security.
The standoff emerged after Mr. Henry, who has been supported by the United States since becoming Haiti’s de facto leader after the 2021 assassination of the President Jovenel Moisewas unable to return to Haiti on Tuesday because of doubts over a safe landing at the airport in the capital, Port-au-Prince, which has been targeted in recent days by gang attacks.
Mr. Henry, after landing in Puerto Rico on Tuesday, has not made any public statements about his whereabouts or plans to return to Haiti. In the meantime, as scenes of looting and mayhem have many in Port-au-Prince on edge, gang leaders are rushing to fill the power vacuum.
“If Ariel Henry does not resign, if the international community continues to support him, we are headed for a civil war,” Jimmy Cherizier, a top gang leader and former police officer better known as Barbecue, said journalists in Port-au-Prince on Tuesday.
Mr. Chérizier and other gang leaders went on a rampage around Port-au-Prince last week, clashing with police and attacking the airport, bank offices, government buildings and prisons, including the largest prison in country, allowing thousands of prisoners to escape.
The worsening security situation limits the options available to the United States, which has traditionally held enormous power in Haitian politics. The Biden administration has made it clear that there are no plans to deploy US troops to Haiti to enforce order.
“What we have asked the Haitian prime minister to do is move forward with a political process that will lead to the establishment of a presidential transitional council that will lead to elections,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters on Wednesday . “And we think it’s urgent — that it’s urgent that he move forward in that direction and begin the process of bringing normalcy back to the people of Haiti.”
A US government official said Caricom, a union of 15 Caribbean countries, was leading calls for the Haitian prime minister to resign immediately, while the United States felt it had to support Mr. Henry as he gave the best chance of ensuring a smooth transition and election process.
The official, who spoke on background to discuss sensitive issues, added that the United States had no other Haitian partner to serve as Mr. Henry’s successor. The official said asking the prime minister to resign immediately would only create more chaos in a country already on the brink of collapse.
“Now they’re stuck with something even more unpleasant, with no way out, no alternative to the crisis,” said Robert Fatton, a Haiti expert at the University of Virginia, referring to the Biden administration’s options regarding Haiti. “Gangs have a tremendous ascendancy today.”
The violence unleashed by the gangs is exacerbating a chronic humanitarian crisis in Haiti. About 15,000 people have been forced from their homes in the past few days by the escalating violence, including many who have already been displaced, said Martin Griffiths, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator.
Widespread hunger is another key concern, with approximately 1.4 million people in the country currently facing emergency levels of hunger, according in the World Food Program.
Overall, “almost half of the population is in need of humanitarian aid,” said Mr. Griffiths, who is also the UN Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs. “The crisis in Haiti is worsening at an alarming rate.”
The deepening sense of unrest in Haiti has also raised doubts about a plan for Kenya to lead a security mission in Haiti, which the Biden administration has been pushing for the past year. Mr. Henry flew to Nairobi last week and on Friday signed the agreement with the Kenyan authorities.
Under the plan, Kenya will provide at least 1,000 police for the mission, which the United States has pledged to support with $200 million and Canada with nearly $60 million. Other countries, including Benin, Chad, Bangladesh and Barbados, have also pledged to send personnel as part of the mission.
“That agreement was signed by an illegitimate person,” said Monique Clesca, a Haitian democracy activist and former United Nations official, noting that Haiti’s parliament, which is currently defunct, and its possible leader in future, will have to approve the agreement for the mission to move forward.
Michael Crowley, Natalie Kitroeff, David C. Adams, Andre Paultre and Frances Robles contributed reporting.
