Secretary of State Antony Blinken is greeted by U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica, N. Nick Perry, left, as he arrives at Norman Manley International Airport, in Kingston, Jamaica, on March 11.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Caribbean leaders in Jamaica on Monday in an urgent push to solve the spiralling crisis in Haiti, while pressure grows on Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign or agree to a transitional council.
The meeting was organized by members of a regional trade bloc known as Caricom, which for months has pressed for a transitional government in Haiti while protests in the country have demanded Henry’s resignation. Mia Mottley, Barbados’ prime minister, said that up to 90% of proposals that Haitian stakeholders have “put on the table” are similar. These include an “urgent need” to create a presidential council to help identify a new prime minister to establish a government.
Scores of people have been killed, and more than 15,000 are homeless after fleeing neighbourhoods raided by gangs. Food and water are dwindling as stands and stores selling to impoverished Haitians run out of goods. The main port in Port-au-Prince remains closed, stranding dozens of containers with critical supplies.
A growing number of people are demanding Henry’s resignation. He has not made any public comment since the attacks began. A U.N. delegation attending Monday’s meeting includes the secretary-general’s chief of staff Courtenay Rattray, Undersecretary-General Atul Khare, who is in charge of U.N. logistics, and Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jena, who is in charge of the Americas in the U.N. political office.