Haiti's prime minister landed in Puerto Rico on Tuesday, answering a key question on the minds of Haitians ever since armed gangs plunged the long-suffering Caribbean nation into near anarchy: Where in the world is he?Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry after giving a public lecture at the United States International University in Nairobi, Kenya on Friday.
"It's the million-dollar question," said Jake Johnston, a research associate at the Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research. "The fact that he hasn't even opened his mouth since the violence began has stoked all sorts of speculation."Authorities in Haiti have declared state of emergency after a very violent weekend. Gangs destroyed infrastructure and over-ran the country's two biggest prisons, allowing thousands to flee.
While Haiti's problems run deep and defy any quick fix, Henry himself is increasingly unpopular. His inability to govern effectively has stoked calls for him to step aside that the gangs are also embracing, if only to advance their own criminal interests, Johnston said. He appeared to make good on that threat over the next few days as gangs launched attacks on the central bank, the airport, even the national soccer stadium. The culmination of the co-ordinated offensive came over the weekend when a jailbreak at the National Penitentiary and another prison released onto the streets of the capital more than 5,000 inmates, many of whom had been serving time for murder, kidnapping and other violent crimes.
But the Biden administration's support has not translated into popularity at home, where Henry is reviled. Since he took power more than two years ago, the economy has been in free fall, food prices have skyrocketed and gang violence has surged.killed, injured or kidnapped, more than double the number reported in 2022.