Speaker 1 (00:01):
Ariel Henry resigned his post as Haitian Prime Minister on Monday. He steps down amid a surge of gang violence in the Caribbean nation, which has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more since 2021. According to estimates by the UN, Henry tendered his resignation at a conference of Caribbean community states held in nearby Jamaica. The unelected 74-year-old neurosurgeon has held his rule since the 2021 assassination of Haiti's last president. Late last month, he traveled to Kenya to secure its leadership of a United Nations-backed international security mission to help Haitian police fight gangs. However, a drastic escalation of violence in the capital, Port-au-Prince, while he was gone left him stranded in the US territory of Puerto Rico and prompted Washington to airlift staff from its embassy in Haiti on Sunday. Regional leaders gathered in Jamaica the next day to discuss the framework for a political transition in Haiti. While gangs had been calling for Henry to step down, many Haitians consider Henry to be corrupt. He has repeatedly postponed elections, saying security must first be restored.
Antony Blinken (01:12): A political crisis, escalating violence, unrest. This has created an untenable situation for the Haitian people.
Speaker 1 (01:22): Before Henry resigned Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for the creation of a council to be tasked with meeting "the immediate needs of Haitians," enabling the security mission's deployment, and paving the way for free elections. Blinken said Washington would also contribute $33 million in humanitarian aid and an additional $100 million in funding for the UN-backed force, bringing the total US contribution to the security mission to $300 million. A senior US official told Reuters, Henry was free to remain in Puerto Rico and that the situation in Haiti would have to improve for him to feel comfortable to return.