Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry has submitted his resignation to the Council of Ministers.
The news was announced by CARICOM Chairman Irfaan Ali in an interview with the BBC.
Immediately afterwards, a video was published by the Prime Minister’s Office.
“As I have always said, no sacrifice is too great for our country, Haiti. The government I lead, after a meeting of the council of ministers this evening, has decided to set up a presidential transitional council,” Ariel Henry said in the video. “My government will withdraw immediately after the installation of the council and will continue to manage current affairs until the appointment of a new prime minister and government,” added the former head of government.
Ariel Henry’s resignation as Prime Minister was an open secret.
He had been asked by the State Department to step down as prime minister.
Mr. Henry read the statement exactly as it was dictated to him.
In an interview with Caribbean Television Network on March 7, 2024, Antigua and Barbuda’s representative to the United States and the OAS revealed the exact content of Ariel Henry’s resignation letter.
To obtain authorization to return to Haiti, Ariel Henry would have to declare in a video that the only reason he wished to return to Haiti was to facilitate the establishment of a transitional government”, revealed Ronald Sanders.
The announcement of Ariel Henry’s resignation comes just hours after the Caribbean Community meeting in Jamaica.
A meeting attended by representatives of several countries, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holmes among others.
The meeting was chaired by CARICOM Chairman Irfaan Ali, who is also President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.
A presidential council of at least 5 members is to be set up as part of a national consensus government, as envisaged in the document submitted to CARICOM by Haiti’s political leaders.