Haiti installs new PM Ariel Henry, weeks after the assassination of President Moise

Amid political chaos, the Haitian government on July 20 formally appointed Ariel Henry as the country’s Prime Minister nearly two weeks after President Jovenel Moise was gunned down in a murder plot that extends far beyond the Caribbean country’s borders. While the officials mourned the assassinated President, the government installed the new Prime Minister who was sworn in to replace interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph. Joseph had assumed leadership of Haiti with the hack of the law enforcement and the military after the July 7 attack on Moise in his private home. 

The assassination of the Haitian President also left his wife severely injured and shocked the entire nation of 11 million. Henry’s appointment came when the country is tackling with lawlessness fueled by the violent gangs and the newly-minted PM said that he is willing to create conditions for as many people as possible to vote in the elections that are set to take place in September. Apart from calling for unity, Henry said, “The task that awaits us is complex and difficult” but added, “I’m from a school that believes in dialogue.”

"It's time for unity and for stability," Henry said.

Joseph also warns of ‘tough’ task ahead 

Henry, a neurosurgeon and former Cabinet minister, called for unwavering support from the international community for the Haitian government which has also received billions in aid since a devastating earthquake in 2010. Outgoing former Haiti’s Prime Minister Claude Joseph said that Henry’s appointment was intended to facilitate elections that were last held in the country in 2016. Joseph also warned of the tough task that lies ahead of the government amid the crisis.

Speaking before presenting Henry, Joseph said, “You inherit a remarkable situation ... a political crisis without precedence... galloping insecurity, a morose and precarious socio-economic situation.”

After the ceremony, Henry’s new cabinet with all the ministers was formally presented. Meanwhile, a large portrait of the slain president hung behind Joseph as he spoke to the mourners of the assassinated president. He said, “The president is dead because of his political and social conviction” before accusing the oligarchs and criminals of killing the president’s character and then the president himself.

IMAGE: AP