By Roberto Morejón
The international community hopes that the resignation of the questioned Prime Minister Ariel Henry and the inauguration of a Transitional Council will allow the violence to end in Haiti, devastated by a humanitarian crisis.
The Caribbean nation will have a prime minister installed in Port-au-Prince, the capital, since the resigned Henry was abroad, prevented from returning due to the prevailing chaos.
The head of Finance, Michel Boisvert, was appointed by the Transitional Council as interim premier until the formation of a new government, something uncertain where the institutions almost do not function.
Made up of seven members and two observers, the body responds to agreements adopted between various actors, including CARICOM, Caribbean Community.
With many doubts about the prerogatives and possibilities of exercising them, the Council intends to assume certain presidential powers until the assumption of a first president, elected in elections, on a date no later than February 2026.
If the task of forming the committee was arduous, it will be even more difficult to carry out its decisions in a territory decimated by shootings, extortion, physical attacks, dismantling of health and education services and with a police force overwhelmed by the power of the gangs.
The latter, benefiting from arms trafficking from the United States, seemed to ignore the assumption of the Transitional Council.
With the port and the airfield closed due to the threat of criminal groups, 80 percent of Port-au-Prince is under the control of the irregulars, whose leader goes by the name of Jimmy Chérizier, alias Barbebue.
Its wantonness is notable, since more than 2,500 people died or were injured between January and March, 53 percent more than in the last three months of 2023.
For some, peace will only come about with the arrival of an international armed mission, for which Kenya says it is ready with about a thousand police officers.
However, many Haitians and analysts warn about such a decision, given the disastrous consequences for sovereignty and social order of previous experiences.
This is a precedent to be assessed by the Transitional Council, which must also act in the midst of permanent political instability, exacerbated after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, in July 2021.
Under the threat of the spread of cholera and with a paralyzed economy, the Transitional Council has a titanic mission to regain control of a country adrift. END
