Haitian Politicians Seek New Alliances To Stem Outpouring Of Violence
HuffPost
The country's international airport was shuttered by gangs that now control most of the capital city.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haitian politicians started pursuing new alliances Wednesday, seeking a coalition that could lead the country out of the gang violence that has closed the main airport and prevented embattled Prime Minister Ariel Henry from returning home.
Haiti remained largely paralyzed, with schools and businesses still closed amid heavy gunfire blamed on the gangs that control an estimated 80% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, where several bodies lay on empty streets. The country’s two biggest prisons were also raided, resulting in the release of more than 4,000 inmates over the weekend.
Henry faces increasing pressure to resign, which would likely trigger a U.S.-supported transition to a new government.
One new political alliance involves former rebel leader Guy Philippe and ex-presidential candidate and senator Moïse Jean Charles, who told Radio Caraïbes on Wednesday that they signed a deal to form a three-person council to lead Haiti.
Philippe, a key figure in the 2004 rebellion that ousted former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, returned to Haiti in November and has been calling for Henry’s resignation. He spent several years in prison in the U.S. after pleading guilty to a money laundering charge.
