Louis Gérald Gilles et Edgard Leblanc Fils sont soupçonnées d’entretenir des liens opérationnels et politiques avec des groupes armés, compromettant gravement les efforts de sécurité et la stabilité institutionnelle du pays.
The U.S. State Department has imposed visa restrictions on members of Haiti's Transitional Presidential Council, revoking the visas of two council members and their families due to alleged ties to gangs and interference with anti-terrorism efforts. The names of impacted individuals were not disclosed.
La crise politique n’a duré qu'à peine 24 heures. Des membres du CPT, Conseil provisoire de transition, qui ont tenté de révoquer le Premier ministre par intérim, Alix Didier Fils-Aimé ne sont plus majoritaires. Les menaces de la communauté internationale auraient évité une crise politique.
Members of the council have been accused of targeting the prime minister in order to keep their grip on power and remain in the transitional posts after Feb. 7. On Friday, council members Leslie Voltaire, who has been accused of leading the push, and Edgard Leblanc Fils spoke at a joint press conference declaring they have the right to replace the prime minister and want to ensure the country doesn’t fall into chaos after Feb. 7.
The two men, however, also gave contradictory messages about the process, with Voltaire talking about “a pause to allow political parties and civil society groups to meet” and seek what he described as an acceptable governance arrangement, and Leblanc saying that the resolution firing Fils-Aimé “is ready” to be sent to the National Press for printing.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke today with Haitian Prime Minister Alix Fils-Aimé to reaffirm U.S. support for Haiti’s stability and security. Secretary Rubio emphasized the importance of his continued tenure as Haiti’s Prime Minister to combat terrorist gangs and stabilize the island. The current violence caused by gangs can only be stopped with consistent, strong leadership, with the full support of the Haitian people. The Secretary added the Transitional Presidential Council (TPC) must be dissolved by February 7 without corrupt actors seeking to interfere in Haiti’s path to elected governance for their own gains.
Deputy U.S. Secretary of State Christopher Landau visited Port-au-Prince on Friday on a last-minute trip during which he observed a shooting exercise involving members of the newly created Gang Suppression Force, which has yet to be fully deployed, and met with Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé.
Landau’s visit comes at a particularly difficult moment for Fils-Aimé and residents of the capital and surrounding regions, where armed gangs have been tightening their grip and expanding their control; the country’s long-overdue elections increasingly look unlikely to take place this year.
Depuis 1987, date de la tentative d’organiser les premières élections démocratiques en Haïti, les crises électorales avant, pendant ou après les scrutins, se sont succédé. Rares sont les élections sans crises et les crises sans une élection au bout des aventures. L’une nourrissant l’autre pour donner naissance à nos insatiables transitions.
Il est encore temps d’éviter la prochaine catastrophe électorale. Pour cela, il faudra de la pédagogie, de la simplification et des institutions au-dessus de tout soupçon. Pas d'approximation, pas d'omission, pas d’arrière-pensée.
La Force de répression des gangs (FRG) a annoncé qu’elle se trouve dans la phase finale de ses préparatifs avant le lancement de ses opérations en Haïti. Cette annonce intervient dans un contexte de détérioration continue de la situation sécuritaire, notamment à Port-au-Prince ainsi que dans plusieurs autres régions du pays, où les violences armées continuent de provoquer peur, déplacements de population et instabilité.
The force will be operating in Haiti’s volatile security environment amid intense political pressure tied to long-delayed elections, which remain uncertain, given that the foreign gang-fighting units are not expected to be fully deployed until October.