Caribbean leaders meet with Haiti's prime minister. Foreign force deployment is on the agenda
Caribbean leaders have met with embattled Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry to talk about his country’s unrelenting gang violence
GEORGETOWN, Guyana — Caribbean leaders met with embattled Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry on Sunday to talk about his country’s unrelenting gang violence, with one top official noting that his continued presence as head of government remains a main stumbling block to progress.
Bahamian Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell told The Associated Press that opposition leaders and other groups in Haiti oppose Henry as prime minister, even as the regional trade bloc known as Caricom keeps trying to help change the country’s situation.
Mitchell said the international community also questions how the country would function if Haiti’s prime minister resigns or is removed, adding that “there needs to be a political solution.”
In brief comments to the AP, Henry said that calls for his removal are a power grab, and that nothing will happen “unless we work together.”
Earlier this month, demonstrators across Haiti organized protests that turned violent as they demanded that Henry resign.
Mitchell spoke to the AP after meeting with Henry and other Caribbean leaders behind closed doors in Guyana before a four-day Caricom summit in the South American country. Officials including U.S. ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian A. Nichols are expected to attend.
Mitchell said that Caribbean leaders were scheduled to meet with Thomas-Greenfield on Monday morning.
“Haiti is the only topic. Nothing else, really,” he said.
In a statement Sunday, Haiti’s government said that Henry would attend the Caricom summit, which will host talks about the
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