Tag: Miami Herald

Haitians woke up Thursday under a cloud of uncertainty as the country’s fragile political transition descended into open confrontation, with the sides locked in a standoff and neither appearing willing to back down. With just days remaining until its mandate ends, Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council is seeking to remove Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé from office. Such a move would create a dangerous political vacuum—one the United States and other international partners are anxious to avoid—and could open the door to renewed instability at a moment Haiti’s security forces have begun to make measurable gains against armed gangs.

Members of the Security Council made clear that the presidential council’s mandate will end in 18 days. Yet, despite this, members seem poised to remain in office while targeting Fils-Aimé’s, who is trying to avoid the fate of predecessor Garry Conille, who was also fired by the council. But unlike Conille, who was fired after six months and lost support from Washington, Fils-Aimé is in a different position. Foreign diplomats in Port-au-Prince have made it clear the council’s days are numbered and that Fils-Aimé, a businessman, must stay on for continuity and to avoid a political vacuum that could further embolden gangs.

Time is running out for Haiti’s political leaders to reach a consensus on how the country should be governed after Feb. 7, when the ruling Transitional Presidential Council is expected to step down without transferring power to an elected government.

The report presented by Secretary-General António Guterres another concern stood out — one that some experts fear is being overlooked in the effort to fight the country’s powerful gangs with a larger and more lethal international force: the condition of Haiti’s national police. “The abrupt shift in the security landscape in recent years in Haiti has placed unprecedented strain on the police force,” the report said, noting that the agency has been forced to move from managing civil unrest to conducting complex anti-gang operations.

The U.S. government will be required to investigate and report on members of Haiti’s political and economic elite who have colluded with violent gangs, and to impose sanctions on those found to have done so, under legislation Congress has approved.