By Haiti’s transitional presidential council appointed entrepreneur Alix Didier Fils-Aime as the country’s new prime minister Monday, replacing Garry Conille in the latest leadership change for the violence-plagued Caribbean nation.
The appointment, published in Haiti’s official gazette, comes as armed gangs control most of the capital Port-au-Prince and have expanded into neighboring regions, forcing hundreds of thousands from their homes and exacerbating a humanitarian crisis amid lagging international support.
Didier Fils-Aime, son of prominent Haitian activist Alix Fils-Aime who was imprisoned under Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier’s dictatorship, takes over from Conille, who served just six months after his May appointment. The outgoing prime minister recently sought security assistance during trips to the United Arab Emirates and Kenya following gang attacks that killed at least 70 people.
In a letter circulated Sunday on social media, Conille challenged the council’s authority to dismiss him, arguing it only had power to appoint, not remove, a prime minister. “This resolution, taken outside any legal and constitutional framework, raises serious concerns about its legitimacy and its impact on the future of our country,” he wrote.
The transition council, established in April to exercise certain presidential powers until conditions allow for elections, has faced internal divisions while struggling to address Haiti’s mounting security crisis. Neighboring nations continue deporting Haitian migrants back to the troubled country despite deteriorating conditions.
The Prime Minister’s office did not respond to requests for comment on the leadership change.
