Acting prime minister Ariel Henry is unwilling to share power as violence continues to spiral
Talks to solve Haiti’s political crisis have hit deadlock, preventing progress on deploying an international force to combat the criminal gangs terrorising the Caribbean country and choking access to food, fuel and aid.
Violence has spiralled since the assassination in July 2021 of President Jovenel Moïse, overwhelming the underfunded police force and triggering an exodus of refugees from the capital Port-au-Prince.
Caribbean-sponsored talks in Port-au-Prince last week between acting prime minister Ariel Henry, the opposition, and civil society leaders concluded on Saturday without agreement on a path to elections, according to a participant in the meeting. Two people with knowledge of the talks confirmed his account.
“There is unfortunately a complete deadlock regarding elections,” said Jacques Ted Saint-Dic, an opponent of Henry who took part in the talks that began last Thursday. “The status quo is completely maintained and we cannot take any step forward at the moment.”
Rapidly deteriorating security is bolstering international support for a multinational force to help Haitian police, though many nations are wary of becoming involved in a complex crisis in a country with deep-rooted problems and where previous foreign interventions have failed.Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles.
Henry assumed power with the backing of the US after Moïse’s murder by Colombian mercenaries. He has been unwilling to share power with members of Haiti’s opposition and civil society, who are proposing an interim government with a president and prime minister to stabilise the country while elections are convened.
Henry instead has proposed expanding a national transition council, something his critics describe as a play for time so he can further consolidate power.
“The refusal of Ariel Henry is systematic,” said Ted Saint-Dic, who is a member of the Montana Group, a coalition of Haitian civil society and diaspora leaders.
“We have met with him [Henry] 17 times and we keep hitting the same wall. He is not willing to accept a two-headed government in the country.”
The three-day meeting in Port-au-Prince last week — moderated by a Caricom delegation of former prime ministers — follows a first round of talks in Jamaica in June. Previous attempts at negotiations have failed to achieve results. All sides agreed on Saturday to continue negotiating.
The poorest nation in the Americas, Haiti is beset by overlapping calamities, with gang violence, political instability and natural disasters driving the country to ruin. The UN estimates that 4.9mn people — around half of the population — struggle to eat enough each day.
Since the terms of a group of senators expired in January, there are no elected officials left in the country.
Renewing calls for a “robust international force” after a visit to Port-au-Prince on July 1, the UN’s Guterres said Haitians were “trapped in a living nightmare”.
Guterres said he had “frank exchanges” with Henry — who supports a foreign intervention force — during a recent visit. He reiterated the “need for a political agreement to put an end to the crisis”.
Following a high-level meeting of the 15-member Caricom bloc in Trinidad and Tobago earlier this month, the body voiced the need for a UN-backed “humanitarian and security stabilisation corridor” — a shift in tone from Caricom, who had been reluctant to back an international force.
“Heads of government are of the view that approaches should be made to Rwanda, Kenya and other willing international partners to support the strengthening of the Haitian National Police and the establishment of the corridor,” the joint statement read.
Haiti’s police, with around 9,000 officers and only 3,500 on duty at any time, according to the UN, have been powerless to stem the violence. Local vigilante groups — known in Haitian Creole as Bwa Kale — have formed in response and have carried out dozens of lynchings of suspected gang members.
A February survey by Haitian pollster Diagnostic Development Group found that 69 per cent of Haitians would support a foreign intervention. But critics of a multinational force, including members of the Montana group, say it would strengthen Henry’s position.
The US and Canada have both opted out of any possible leadership role of an international force, while Jamaica and the Bahamas — both seen as leaders on the issue within Caricom — have offered to send troops but lack the knowhow to run the operation.
Analysts say Caribbean countries, who share a history of colonial occupation similar to Haiti’s, are well placed to lead the movement for an international force.
“It is not the same as it is for countries like the US or France who have in the past sought to influence Haitian policy to suit their own interests,” said Diego Da Rin, who researches Haiti for the International Crisis Group.
Louis-Henri Mars, who has worked on peace-building initiatives in Haiti for decades, said an international police force would be unable to ensure lasting peace in Haiti unless the conditions that drive the poor to join gangs were addressed.
“You can go into the hoods with Swat teams and crack down on the gangs, but is there a plan for the day after? I haven’t seen one.”
