Haitian PM stranded in Dominican Republic for unwanted ‘lucrative jobs’: Russian human traffickers lure Indians to the front

The head of Haiti’s government, Ariel Henry, is not welcome for security reasons, Dominican President Luis Abinader said, according to a statement from his office on Saturday (local time). The crisis in Haiti also poses a direct threat to the stability and security of the Dominican Republic.

In late February, violence escalated in Haiti, where gangs already controlled about 80 percent of the capital Port-au-Prince, according to the UN. Henry was traveling abroad at the time, including to Kenya – the country that would lead a UN Security Council-approved security mission in Haiti. He has apparently not returned to Haiti since then due to the security situation. On Tuesday, Henry traveled to Puerto Rico after the Dominican Republic, which shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with Haiti, denied him permission to land. Haiti’s two international airports are closed due to the violence.

The country’s two main armed groups had merged. Their leader, Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier, called on Henry to resign – otherwise civil war would break out. The gangs freed more than 4,500 prisoners from two prisons and attacked police and government facilities, among other things. The number of victims is unknown.

Henry, a 74-year-old neurosurgeon, took over the leadership of the government after President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated at his home on July 7, 2021. No elections have been held since then. The US has called on Henry in recent days to speed up the political transition.

The violence largely paralyzed Port-au-Prince and other parts of Haiti. It also worsened the already precarious humanitarian situation in the poor country, where the UN says nearly half of its roughly 11 million residents are suffering from acute hunger. (sda/dpa)