By Rosemary
Haiti’s protracted political crisis took another destabilizing turn Friday after the country’s transitional presidential council announced it had voted to dismiss Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, a move that comes just weeks before the council itself is scheduled to step aside.
The announcement was delivered at a sparsely attended news conference by council member Edgard Leblanc Fils, who appeared alongside fellow councilor Leslie Voltaire. Leblanc said a majority of the council voted Thursday to remove Fils-Aimé from office, despite explicit warnings from the United States government urging Haiti’s leaders to preserve continuity at the top of government amid a worsening security emergency.
No other members of the nine-member council were present at the briefing, underscoring the internal divisions surrounding the decision.
In a statement issued late Thursday, the U.S. State Department said retaining Fils-Aimé as prime minister was “integral” to Haiti’s efforts to confront heavily armed gangs that have overrun much of the country. The department also cautioned that Haitian political actors who support or enable criminal groups terrorizing the population would face serious consequences.
Leblanc declined to provide specific reasons for the council’s decision to turn against Fils-Aimé, who was appointed to the post in November 2024. Instead, he said the council would seek to name a new prime minister within 30 days, framing the shake-up as a necessary step toward restoring order.
“Our objective is to find the path to fully restore security and stability, to correct the mistakes of the past and to move toward development,” Leblanc said, adding that the council was acting in what it believed to be the country’s best interests.
Voltaire, speaking forcefully, pushed back against what he described as foreign pressure on Haiti’s political process. He emphasized that the council itself had chosen Fils-Aimé and insisted that Haitians alone should decide his replacement.
“It wasn’t foreigners who chose Didier, and it won’t be foreigners who choose his successor,” Voltaire said. “Everyone says they want a Haitian solution to the crisis, but when Haitians begin to shape one, the international community comes in with all its claws.”
Voltaire acknowledged Fils-Aimé’s personal competence and commitment but said the government had failed to deliver tangible improvements for ordinary Haitians. “The population doesn’t get what it needs,” he said.
Although the council is due to relinquish power in early February, Voltaire said it wanted to ensure a stronger governing team was in place before departing. He warned that if political parties and civil society groups fail to agree on suitable leadership by Feb. 6, the council would impose its own solution.
The dismissal comes at a moment of mounting pressure on Haiti’s transitional authorities to organize general elections, which would be the first in nearly a decade. Tentative plans call for votes in August and December to elect a new president, filling the vacuum left since President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated at his private residence in July 2021.
Since Moïse’s killing, gang violence has intensified dramatically. Armed groups are estimated to control roughly 90% of Port-au-Prince, along with large areas of Haiti’s central region. According to United Nations data, more than 8,100 people were killed nationwide between January and November last year, a figure the U.N. says likely understates the true toll.
Leblanc said he hopes political organizations, civil society leaders and religious figures will come together to decide how Haiti should be governed after Feb. 7, the date when the council’s mandate is supposed to expire.
Some analysts warn that failure to meet that deadline could further destabilize the country. Michael Deibert, author of two books on Haiti, said the council’s refusal to step down on time would add yet another layer of uncertainty to an already fragile political landscape.
“Haiti is already dealing with a rupture of constitutional order and extraordinarily severe violence,” Deibert said. “Any delay risks injecting more volatility into an already combustible situation.”
He also cautioned that the coming weeks could bring rapid political shifts. “Alliances in Haiti are highly transactional and can change very quickly,” he said.
Of the council’s nine members, only seven have voting power, with five constituting a majority. It remains unclear whether the council’s current leader, Laurent Saint-Cyr, supported the decision to remove the prime minister. Earlier this week, Saint-Cyr issued a statement opposing efforts to undermine the government’s stability ahead of the Feb. 7 transition.
On Friday, a spokesperson said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke directly with Fils-Aimé, reiterating Washington’s support for Haiti’s security and political stability. Rubio emphasized that sustained, coordinated leadership, backed by public support, is essential to curbing gang violence.
He also stressed that the transitional council must dissolve as scheduled, warning against corrupt actors attempting to manipulate the transition for personal or political gain, according to a statement from the U.S. State Department.
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