As the nation continues to struggle with rampant gang violence, corruption, and economic insecurity, Haiti has appointed businessman Laurent Saint-Cyr as head of its transitional presidential council.
The Villa d’Accueil, a colonial-style mansion in a Port-au-Prince suburb, hosted Saint-Cyr’s inauguration ceremony on Thursday.
At the ceremony, Saint-Cyr remarked, “We must restore state authority.” The insecurity we face is undoubtedly related to it, but it also reflects our lack of courage, vision, and irresponsibility.
Even Saint-Cyr’s inauguration was a sign of the unrest Haiti experienced. Nearly 90% of Port-au-Prince’s gang-controlled area has seen a significant displacement of the federal government.
One well-known gang leader, Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier, even threatened to disrupt Saint-Cyr’s inauguration on Thursday morning.
In a video posted online, Cherizier stated, “We have decided to march on the premier’s office and the Villa d’Accueil to end it all.
People of Haiti, take good of yourselves and help us, he urged the residents of Port-au-Prince to assist him and his fighters as they approached the mansion.
However, Cherizier ultimately had no success. A security mission led by Kenya and supported by the United Nations made a statement outlining the increase in police patrols in the area.
According to the statement, “Armed gangs had plotted to disrupt national stability and render the country ungovernable,” claiming that law enforcement had been able to stop those plans.
However, Saint-Cyr’s appointment has drawn criticism for what it represents in the country’s devastation.
Both Alix-Didier Fils-Aime, the prime minister of Haiti, and Saint-Cyr are light-skinned, mixed-race businesspeople who both made money in the private sector. While Fils-Aime led an online business, Saint-Cyr worked in the insurance sector.
Only 5% of Haitians identify as mixed race, compared to the majority of people who are Black. Latin America’s poorest nation is the one it is.
Some critics worry that Haiti’s government, which has traditionally relied on the wealthy and people with lighter skin, will experience a downward trend.
Since 2016, there hasn’t been a presidential election in the nation, and there has been more unrest since Jovenel Moise’s assassination in 2021.
Criminal organizations have criticized the current government leadership as ineffective and corrupt while utilizing the power vacuum to expand their own influence.
By the end of that year, three of its members had been charged with corruption despite having only been established in April 2024. They had all denied wrongdoing.
The transitional presidential council has been a rotating leadership position for nine members, who are widely unpopular.
Before the council’s final meeting on February 7, 2026, Saint-Cyr is supposed to be its leader. The council and Saint-Cyr are expected to give the election’s winner control at that point.
Elections for positions in the federal government are scheduled to take place in three stages, starting in November and culminating in the presidential election in February. However, opponents warn that those plans could be thwarted by gang violence.
Between October 2024 and June this year, according to the UN, 4, 864 people died in Haiti.
Nearly 1.3 million people have been displaced from their homes as a result of violent threats that have forced essential services, including hospitals and roads, to close.
Saint-Cyr pleaded with the international community to provide additional resources in response to Haiti’s humanitarian situation, which is regarded as one of the worst in the world.
At Thursday’s ceremony, Saint-Cyr urged all international partners to increase their support, send more soldiers, and train more people. I’m urging the security forces to increase their operations.
There were ambassadors from a number of foreign nations present. He made some remarks about them.
According to Saint-Cyr, “our nation is experiencing one of its greatest crises in all its history.” Not the time for beautiful speeches, he said. The time has come to take action.
Source: Aljazeera
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