The Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced from his refuge in Puerto Rico that he has resigned his office and has stepped down in an attempt to ease political tension and stop the violence prevalent throughout the small but troubled island nation.Â
Haiti has been beleaguered by political strife, poverty, violence and a slew of natural disasters that have devastated the island for decades and over the past several months tensions have come to a head as armed groups calling for Henry’s resignation have already attacked airports, police stations, sea ports, the Central Bank and the country’s national soccer stadium.Â
According to a report from the U.N. released in January, more than 8,400 people were killed, injured or kidnapped in 2023, an increase of 122 percent increase from 2022.
The U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince issued an urgent advisory for American citizens to depart Haiti due to the escalating chaos, a flight carrying them arrived at Miami International Airport. A government-chartered flight carrying approximately 30 Americans arrived in Miami on Sunday, March 17Â U.S. State Department officials said.
Prime Minister Claude Joseph assumed executive power in the economically ravaged nation following the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, but in a violent uprising relinquished power to Henry who has had multiple charges of political corruption and violent reprisals against his opponents and those attempting to wrestle power from the unscrupulous leader.
Additionally, Haiti still has not fully recovered from the devastating earthquake in 2010 that killed about 220,000 people and left 1.5 million homeless, many of them living in poorly built and exposed housing.
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