Armed groups attacked the National Palace in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, this Monday. The officials of the presidential residence are locked inside and the clashes have left five police officers injured, according to the Efe agency. The current prime minister of the Caribbean country, Ariel Henry, is in exile in Puerto Rico after threats received by criminal groups. He will leave office when a transitional presidential council is created in a country devastated by criminal gangs who want to come to power.
Shooting around the presidential residence has left an armored police vehicle on fire. The armed gangs have extended the battlefield to Champs de Mars, the largest public square in Haiti located next to the National Palace. The invasion of the main space of the Executive power by criminal groups, directed by Jimmy Cherizier, aka BBQseeks to strike a blow to seize power in Haiti.
The Prime Minister of Haiti, Ariel Henry, has tried to remain in power despite not being able to return to Port-au-Prince to exercise it due to the threats that Barbecue made against him. “If the prime minister does not resign, there will be a civil war, a genocide,” the criminal leader and former police officer even declared before dozens of press cameras. Pressure from the international community forced the head of Government to resign at the time when a transitional presidential council and the formation of a new Government were formed.
Haiti's seven coalitions of political parties and social organizations elected a council that is waiting to receive power from a worn-out state. The main challenge for the next Haitian prime minister will be to push back criminal gangs that have assumed power in many areas of the capital and threaten to enter the presidential palace itself.
News in development…
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