After the assassination of Haiti's President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry stepped in despite wide protest among the citizens of Haiti. But with the support of the Biden administration, Henry quickly assumed the role.
It has been reported by the Associated Press that nearly three years later, Henry's handle over the country's power is reaching an inevitable close. Now, Washington is faced with even bigger problems as it works overtime to prevent the country's deterioration into complete pandemonium.
"They messed it up deeply," James Foley, a retired career diplomat and former US ambassador to Haiti, said in an interview about the Biden administration's support for Henry.
"They rode this horse to their doom. It's the fruit of the choices we made."
The prime minister left Haiti 10 days ago and has traveled in silence from South America to Africa to New York and now Puerto Rico as he quietly tries to negotiate his return home, which is becoming highly unlikely.
A mass jailbreak of hundreds of murderers, kidnappers, and other violent offenders has incited chaos across the nation, especially when noting the almost complete withdrawal of police from state institutions.
Another attack on law enforcement by armed groups swearing to continue until Henry's resignation currently has the capital at its mercy. The acting prime minister, filling in while Henry is abroad, has implemented a nighttime curfew through Sunday, however, to no avail.
The United States blind support for the unpopular prime minister has led to the demise of the situation, according to Monique Clesca, a Haitian writer and member of the Montana Group, a coalition of civil, business, and political leaders that has come together in hopes to promote a "Haitan-led solution" to the crisis.
The main objective for the group is to find a replacement for Henry with the help of a committee made up of nonpolitical technocrats that will facilitate focus and clear the way for elections.
Henry continues to delay the promise of organizing a country-wide vote as he shows no interest in relinquishing power.
What could have been Haiti's first vote in a decade, Henry stalled potential progress in Guyana last week in a meeting with Caribbean leaders, impeding the election to mid-2025.
"He's been a magician in terms of his incompetence and inaction," said Clesca. "And despite it all, the US has stayed with him. They've been his biggest enabler."
The United Nations revealed more than 8,400 people were killed, injured, or kidnapped, more than double the number in 2022 under Henry's watch. They estimate that nearly half of Haiti's 11 million population needs humanitarian assistance.
Still, the US continues to stand vigorously behind Henry.
"We've Been Having These Conversations For Some Time"
"He is taking difficult steps," Brian Nichols, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, said in October 2022, as Haitians poured into the streets to protest the end of fuel subsidies. "Those are actions that we have wanted to see in Haiti for quite some time."
Just last month, amid demonstrations demanding his resignation, a top US diplomat came to his defense.
"Ariel Henry will leave after the elections," US chargé d'affaires Eric Stromayer told a local radio station.
However, the Biden administration isn't alone to blame for Haiti's failures.
The country has suffered from poverty, corruption, lawlessness, and the after-effects of natural disasters for decades now. Factionalism among political elites has made it difficult for the US to find trustworthy partners, as most have strong ties with the criminal underworld.
"It's an occupational hazard with Haiti," Foley said. "It's just too hard, too complicated, too insoluble."
Without openly endorsing Henry, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre revealed the United States' long-term plan to help the country achieve good standing for Haitians to administer elections.
Jean-Pierre, whose own parents fled Haiti, gave way to the neglect Haiti has suffered in Washington as of late. In a moment of error, Jena-Pierre confused the Haitian president with the prime minister.
"It's the Haitian people - they need to have an opportunity to democratically elect their prime minister," Jean-Pierre said Wednesday. "That's what we're encouraging."
"But we've been having these conversations for some time."
Nichols is scheduled to speak on Haiti and its current condition when he delivers a speech on US policy in Latin America hosted by the Council of Americas in Washington.
"The US for too long has been too present, too meddling," said Clesca. "It's time for them to step back."
