Haiti Crisis: Regional leaders meet Monday in Kingston as pressure mounts on Henry to pass power

Guyana’s President and Chairman of CARICOM Dr. Irfaan Ali will lead a meeting in Kingston, Jamaica on Monday between regional leaders and other partners from the internal community as urgent solutions are being sought to return stability to Haiti and ensure the citizens there can benefit from much-needed humanitarian aid.

Dr. Ali confirmed the meeting during a video address on Friday night.

“The situation on the ground remains dire.

“We [CARICOM leaders] have taken a decision to write the Heads of State and governments of key countries with whom Haiti is engaged as partners for a meeting in Kingston on Monday, March 11,” Dr. Ali said.

The CARICOM Chair said the meeting is needed to urgently address the state of affairs and all other matters critical to the stabilization of security and the provision of humanitarian aid.

And so, he said the meeting in Jamaica needs to also be at the highest level possible to send a clear message of unity between CARICOM and the international community.

Dr. Ali continues to insist that the resolution needs to be Haitian-led, but at home and abroad, Prime Minister Ariel Henry has been under pressure to pass political power.

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently urged the Prime Minister to support a political process that would lead to fresh elections, signaling the U.S. has lost faith in his ability to manage the country’s latest crisis.

CARICOM Heads of Government have been and remain deeply engaged in discussions with stakeholders in Haiti and Prime Minister Henry all week.

Henry is currently locked out of his country as he struggles to stay in power.

In Haiti, gang attacks have shuttered the country’s main international airport and freed more than 4,000 inmates in recent days.

As of today, Henry remained in Puerto Rico, where he landed on Tuesday after he was barred from landing in neighboring Dominican Republic because officials there closed the airspace to flights to and from Haiti.

“There is an urgent need for consensus to be reached,” Dr. Ali said in a repeated appeal he has been making over the last three days.

“We have impressed on the respective parties that time is not on their side in agreeing on a way forward,” Dr. Ali explained.

“We would like the Haitian people to know that we will continue to work with them until there is a satisfactory resolution.

“We will continue to do as much as we can to the best of our ability and dedicate time and resources in the interest of the people of Haiti,” the CARICOM Chairman assured.