Caribbean countries met urgently on Monday March 11 in Jamaica with representatives of the UN and several countries, including France and the United States, to try to move forward on a solution in Haiti, plagued by gang violence and a crisis of governance.

It was the Caribbean Community (Caricom) which convened this meeting, to which representatives of Canada and the UN, as well as the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken, were also invited.

“It is clear that Haiti is at a tipping point,” said Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness, while corpses are visible in the streets of the Haitian capital, according to AFP journalists.

The president of Guyana and current president of Caricom, Mohamed Irfaan Ali, said he was "optimistic" after the meeting on the possibility of reaching a political solution in the poorest country in the Americas.

Prime Minister stuck in Puerto Rico

Blocked in Puerto Rico after being prevented from returning to Port-au-Prince, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry spoke remotely with members of Caricom during the meeting.

Without a president or parliament - the last head of state, Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated in 2021 - Haiti has not had an election since 2016. Ariel Henry, appointed by Jovenel Moïse, should have left office at the beginning of February.

Ariel Henry signed an agreement in Nairobi at the beginning of March to allow the sending of Kenyan police officers to Haiti and has since sought to return to Haiti.

He is still in Puerto Rico, a US official said Monday.

Several diplomats said that the Kingston meeting was intended to formalize a proposal to Ariel Henry, so that he cedes power to a transitional council including a broad panel of Haitian civil society. 

“Urgent action”

On Monday, the UN Security Council called on all Haitian political actors to "serious negotiations" to "restore the democratic institutions" of the country.

The head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken announced after the meeting in Jamaica that the United States would provide an additional 133 million dollars to resolve the crisis, including 100 million for the multinational force to be sent to Haiti, and 33 million in aid humanitarian.

“We know that urgent action is necessary,” said Antony Blinken, adding: “Only Haitians can decide their future, no one else.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, present virtually during the discussions, had shortly before offered some 91 million dollars.

Port-au-Prince continued this weekend to sink into violence linked to gangs who are demanding the resignation of Ariel Henry, just like part of the population.

The capital is the scene of clashes between police and armed gangs, who attack strategic sites such as the presidential palace, police stations and prisons.

The President of Guyana affirmed a few days ago that Caricom intended to help restore “stability and normality” in Haiti, describing the situation there as “desperate”.

Evacuations

The latest sign of the security crisis is the evacuation on Monday of all European Union staff in Port-au-Prince.

The German diplomatic mission announced a similar decision on Sunday, specifying that it had moved its ambassador to the Dominican Republic, a neighboring country from where he would work "until further notice".

During the night from Saturday to Sunday, the Americans evacuated their non-essential diplomatic personnel by helicopter from Port-au-Prince.

The Haitian authorities declared a state of emergency a week ago, accompanied by a nighttime curfew, in the West department, which includes the capital, but they do not fully control this territory.

This curfew was extended Monday until March 14, according to a press release from the authorities.

In the fall, the UN Security Council agreed to send an international mission led by Kenya to help the Haitian police, but its deployment is sorely awaited.

Haitian security forces were able to regain control of the port of Port-au-Prince after clashes with gangs this weekend, the director of the National Port Authority, Jocelin Villier, said Monday.

Boats have been able to unload containers but the main challenge remains transporting products and food from the port to the outside world, because the main roads are not secure enough, he added.

According to the International Organization for Migration, 362,000 people are currently displaced in Haiti, a figure which has jumped 15% since the start of the year.

With AFP

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