Haiti: Progress in Forming Transitional Council Reported Amid Gang Violence

Negotiations to form a transitional council to govern Haiti advanced on Wednesday (Mar. 20), as the United States airlifted more of its citizens to safety as the gang violence has plunged Haiti into chaos.

The talks were sparked by the gang violence and the sudden resignation of Haitian Prime Minister Arel Henry, a move the gangs have demanded since the start of the civil unrest.

Henry agreed to step down and allow the formation of an interim government, but negotiations have been slow despite pressure from neighboring Caribbean countries and the US.

"Discussions continue. I'm sure it will take a little bit of time, But from all indications, it's moving along," Guyanese Ambassador to the UN Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett said.

A Haitian government source told Agence France Presse that Henry had yet to receive the names for the council as talks among political parties and others continue to drag on.

President Jovenel Moise, who appointed Henry, was assassinated in 2021 and never replaced. The council would name an interim prime minister to oversee the country's first elections since 2016.

Haitian Bishops Decline Taking Part of Transitional Council

Meanwhile, the Haitian Bishops' Conference (CEH) issued a statement released on Monday (Mar. 18), appealing for the end of the gang violence and the chaos it created and insisting that they would not join the country's transitional council but would pray and support for its creation.

The bishops' statement said, "We hope that the ongoing talks will lead to a truly inclusive and lasting patriotic agreement in the interest of all the Haitian people who aspire to peace."

Vatican News further reported that the Episcopal Council (CELAM), the Confederation of Religious of Latin America and the Caribbean (CLAR), and Caritas of Latin America have jointly announced a "Continental Day of Prayer" for Friday (Mar. 22).

"We know that the solution is not directly in our hands and that it needs the courage and determination of men and women with national and international decision-making power," they said in a statement. "However, we are convinced of the strength and power of prayer, which also brings us closer and expresses our solidarity with the Haitian people."

Friday's call to prayer will coincide with the late Lenten veneration of Our Lady of Sorrows, a memorial in honor of the Virgin Mary on the Friday before Good Friday, the general observance and memorial of the death of Jesus during the Christian Holy Week.