Status: 21.07.2021 02:19 a.m.
Two weeks after the murder of President Moise, a transitional government led by Ariel Henry has taken power in Haiti. The neurosurgeon was sworn in as interim premier. Elections are to take place in the fall.
After the resignation of Haiti’s interim prime minister, a new government has taken power. The new interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry and his cabinet were sworn in in the capital Port-au-Prince. The previous interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph remains Foreign Minister. He announced his resignation on Tuesday.
President Jovenel Moïse had named Henry the seventh prime minister of his term less than 36 hours before he was assassinated. Since Henry was no longer sworn in before Moïse’s murder, Joseph remained in office. He is now stepping back for the good of the nation, Joseph told the Washington Post on Monday.
Elections planned for the end of September
On Saturday, representatives of the international community stood behind Henry after first recognizing Joseph as interim prime minister. According to a statement, the so-called core group strongly encouraged Henry to form a “consensual and inclusive” government. The core group includes the ambassadors of Germany, the USA and the EU in Haiti as well as a representative of the UN Secretary General.
Several opposition politicians and activists criticized on Tuesday that civil society and the opposition were not sufficiently represented in the new government. Since Haiti has not had a quorum since the beginning of 2020, the 71-year-old ex-interior minister and neurosurgeon Henry – like Joseph before him – could not be constitutionally confirmed in office. Presidential and parliamentary elections are planned for September 26th in the poor Caribbean country.
Further arrests after Moïse’s murder
The 53-year-old Moïse was attacked and shot in his residence by a heavily armed commando on the night of July 7th. According to police, Colombian mercenaries carried out the murder. A Haitian doctor who lived in the United States and an ex-official of the Haitian Justice Department are said to be behind it. Haiti’s police rejected a Colombian media report that investigations were also being carried out against Joseph.
Police chief Léon Charles announced on Tuesday that there were four more arrests, including those of at least three police officers. “There was an infiltration with the police,” said Charles. According to his statements, 18 Colombians, five Haitians and three Haitian-American persons have been arrested.