New leadership appointed as gangs threaten to overthrow gov’t

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP):

A wealthy businessman became president Thursday of Haiti’s transitional presidential council tasked with restoring order in the troubled country, while a prominent gangster underscored the challenges by vowing to overthrow the government.

The appointment of Laurent Saint-Cyr at the council’s heavily guarded office in the capital of Port-au-Prince – where criminal gangs control 90 per cent of the neighbourhoods – marked the first time that people from Haiti’s private sector serve in both the rotating presidency and as prime minister – two positions that share the country’s executive duties.

“Our country is going through one of the greatest crises in all its history,” Saint-Cyr said at a ceremony attended by ambassadors of several countries. “It’s not the time for beautiful speeches. It’s time to act.”

Hours before the swearing-in, a powerful gang federation that has long denounced Haiti’s oligarchs threatened to overthrow the government, and gunfire erupted in parts of the capital in the morning as many residents stayed away from normally congested streets.

In a video posted on social media, Viv Ansanm gang leader Jimmy Chérizier – better known as “Barbecue” – had warned residents to give his armed group free passage through several neighbourhoods to reach the council’s office.

“People of Haiti, take care of yourselves and help us … in the battle to free the country,” Chérizier said, wearing a bulletproof vest and with an automatic rifle slung around his shoulder.

A U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police said in a statement that officers thwarted potential attacks by around-the-clock patrols and by boosting the number of armed forces in certain neighbourhoods and around critical infrastructure.

“Armed gangs had plotted to disrupt national stability and render the country ungovernable,” it said.

At the council’s office, Saint-Cyr thanked all national and international actors who have helped Haiti, as well as the private sector, which he called the engine of the country’s economy. He noted that while he’s from the private sector, he would serve all people equally.

Saint-Cyr said security was the council’s utmost priority. He called on the armed forces to intensify their operations and on international partners to send more soldiers, offer more training and help boost a mission lacking resources and personnel.

“We must restore state authority,” he said. “The challenges we face are certainly linked to insecurity, but they also are the result of our lack of courage, a lack of vision and our irresponsibility.”

He questioned what was preventing the government from offering services Haitians deserve, including health and education. “Mr. prime minister, assume your responsibilities!” he said.

Saint-Cyr previously served as president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Haiti and of the country’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He’ll be working with Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, a one-time president of an internet company in Haiti and also a former president of the country’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

A growing number of people have grumbled about Haiti’s private sector leading the country. Some of Haiti’s wealthy elites and powerful politicians have long been accused of financing and arming dozens of gangs.

However, dozens of Haitians wearing white T-shirts and clutching signs emblazoned with Saint-Cyr’s picture gathered outside the council’s office in support of him.