Gang-ravaged Haiti welcomes new governing council

Michel Patrick Boisvert, who was named interim prime minister by the cabinet of outgoing Prime Minister Ariel Henry, toasts the transitional council that will select Haiti's new prime minister and cabinet in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, April 25, 2024. Michel Patrick Boisvert, center, who was named interim Prime Minister by the remaining cabinet of outgoing Prime Minister Ariel Henry, attends the swearing-in ceremony of the transitional council in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, April 25, 2024. Police patrol in an armored vehicle in the Champ de Mars area of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, April 24, 2024. Smith Augustin, center, a member of the new transitional council, speaks to the press after the swearing in of the council in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, April 25, 2024.

Haiti opened a new political chapter Thursday with the installation of a transitional council tasked to pick a new prime minister and prepare for eventual presidential elections, in hopes of quelling spiraling gang violence that has killed thousands in the Caribbean country.