Ariel Henry’s Resignation — What Does It Mean For Haiti’s Survival?
Written by Ethan Tsai, Edited by Olivia Lu
Port-Au-Prince — Mar. 12 — Haiti has been on the headlines for the past few months, as the nation has gradually descended into complete anarchy. In the aftermath of the assassination of former president Jovenal Moïse, a succession crisis took place that saw former Prime Minister Ariel Henry take power. Yet his reign came under extreme scrutiny amid accusations of corruption, authoritarianism, and even involvement in the assassination of Moïse. His ascension to the Presidency without an election has led Henry to become extremely unpopular in the Haitian public, which had helped spark the current violence gripping the country.
After the assassination of Moïse and Henry’s rise, Haitian gangs took advantage of civil unrest to seize power in many cities, occupying in particular gas stations and oil depots. The understaffed and weak Haitian police force was unable to put up sufficient resistance and was overwhelmed by the potency of the gangs. For the next couple of years, the Haitian crisis seemed like it may come under control, as a UN mission to send a volunteer Kenyan police force was drawn up. Still, it soon stalled as the Kenyan Supreme Court fought the plan on the grounds it was unconstitutional.
The fall of Ariel Henry began when Guy Philippe and Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier, a former rebel and prominent gang member respectively, incited protests and prevented Henry from returning to Haiti from Kenya, where he was negotiating the UN mission. Henry proceeded to disappear from the public eye while in Kenya, and was last known to have attempted a flight to the Dominican Republic (a nation which, bordering Haiti and so far unaffected by its violence, immediately banned him from landing).
Then suddenly, Ariel Henry announced yesterday that he would resign as soon as a “transitional government” is formed, which is already being outlined by the South American nation of Guyana. However, given that Guyanian President Ali says the gangs were not consulted in the formation of the government, it seems unlikely that it will be able to suppress the riots and violence. With a recent jailbreak, the gangs in Haiti have grown stronger than ever before, making the likelihood of armed resistance nearly absolute — especially since many of the current gang members would be sent back to jail should order be restored. While allying with criminals is distasteful, unless the new government incorporates key leaders of the gangs into its ranks to appease them, the “transitional government” will have no more success than Ariel Henry.
