Leblanc did not provide detailed reasoning for the council’s reversal, saying only that the body had decided to “find the way to fully restore security and stability and enter a cycle of development, correct the mistakes of the past and look ahead.”
“We know that the decision we make is in the interest of the country and in this sense, our friends in the international community will have to take note of our decisions,” Leblanc said at the news conference Friday.
Council emphasizes Haitian autonomy
Voltaire stressed that the council alone would select a successor prime minister and compose a new government, resisting what he characterized as international pressure to accept the current leadership.
“Everyone is looking for a Haitian solution to the crisis, but when we start to find a Haitian solution to the crisis, the international community comes in with all its claws,” Voltaire said. He acknowledged Fils-Aimé’s qualifications while contending that “the population doesn’t get what it needs.”
The U.S. State Department has made clear its position differs. The State Department said Friday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Fils-Aimé to reaffirm American support for Haiti’s stability and security. Rubio stated that gang violence can only be stopped with “consistent, strong leadership, with the full support of the Haitian people,” according to Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott.
Rubio also said the council “must be dissolved by February 7 without corrupt actors seeking to interfere in Haiti’s path to elected governance for their own gain,” Pigott said.
Uncertainty over council leadership
It remains unclear whether Laurent Saint-Cyr, the nine-member council’s current leader, supported the vote to dismiss Fils-Aimé. Saint-Cyr had stated earlier in the week that he opposed any push to undermine government stability before the February 7 deadline.
Only Leblanc and Voltaire were present at Friday’s news conference. Seven of the nine council members have voting powers, with five constituting a majority.
The dismissal deepens uncertainty in a country already destabilized by gang violence. Michael Deibert, who has authored two books on Haiti, warned of compounding volatility. “If the council doesn’t step down by that date, it could add another element of volatility and uncertainty in the political arena in a country already struggling with the rupture of constitutional order and incredibly severe crises of violence and insecurity,” Deibert said.
Deibert added that Haiti’s political landscape remains fluid. “Alliances are very changeable and transactional in the political arena in Haiti,” he said.
The council was initially created as an interim measure to guide the country toward democratic elections after gang violence surged following President Jovenel Moïse’s killing at his home in July 2021. General elections are now tentatively set for August and December 2026. But with the council’s own authority now contested just weeks before its planned dissolution, Haiti’s transition timeline has become substantially less certain.
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