On paper, the formal resignation of Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry, a leader who has lost control of his country to gang violence and organized crime, should pave the way for a transitional council and cooler heads to restore law and order. In a deal cut by CARICOM (an organization of Caribbean countries) and welcomed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, a “transitional governance arrangement” will pave the way for a “peaceful transition of power” in the latest international effort to save Haiti.
Government officials and state institutions in Haiti are deeply intertwined with organized crime.
In reality, with gang members claiming control of 80% of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, these diplomatic and political responses once again attempt to implement a system of governance that ignores the power dynamics at play. This is not a simple story of “uncivilized” gang members squaring off against “noble” democracy activists who need the support of other like-minded democratic nations; government officials and state institutions in Haiti are deeply intertwined with organized crime. Democratic ideals don’t determine who gets recognized as a leader. In the seven years since the last elections, whoever has been able to grab power has been able to control what happens to Haiti’s 11.7 million people.
Even the designation of Ariel Henry as the most recent prime minister was rooted in violence and undemocratic values. Unelected, he came to power in 2021 after Colombian militants (that were likely Haitian-funded) stormed the palace and assassinated Prime Minister Jovenel Moise. After his swearing-in ceremony, Henry promised to hold elections “as soon as possible.” Nearly 2-1/2 years later, with no elections in sight, Haitians took to the streets on Feb. 7 to demand Henry’s resignation, a demonstration symbolically timed for what should have been Inauguration Day for a new leader.
Henry was forced to recognize he lost power when gangs surrounded…
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