US ‘looks forward to working with’ Haiti’s new president

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The United States recognized businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aime as the newly appointed prime minister of Haiti, a State Department spokesman said in a statement Tuesday.

Matthew Miller said the U.S. “looks forward to working with” Fils-Aime and the Transitional Presidential Council “to advance progress against urgent priorities in the coming months.”

Fils-Aime, the former chairman of the board of Haiti’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was sworn in Monday, replacing Garry Conille, who served as the country’s prime minister for only six months.

Conille is a doctor who previously ran UNICEF’s Latin American regional office. The TPC and Conille had been at odds. Several organizations recently tried to mediate the disagreements, according to the Miami Herald.

The transitional council was created in April to choose the Caribbean country’s prime minister and Cabinet, paving the way to the restoration of the democratic process to the gang violence-plagued country.

Democratic elections have not been held in Haiti since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021.

“The United States welcomes the commitment of the TPC and the new prime minister to release a joint action plan that outlines their vision to improve security and governance, and to set a path toward free and fair elections,” Miller’s statement said.

“The United States views it as vital that they clearly delineate the roles and responsibilities of the TPC vis-à-vis the prime minister and include measures to hold one another accountable as appropriate while preventing further gridlock,” the spokesman said.

Police officers patrol near the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Nov. 12, 2024.

As Fils-Aime was being sworn in, gangs shot at a Spirit Airlines airplane as it was attempting to land at Toussaint L'Ouverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital. The flight was diverted to the Dominican Republic, where it landed.

The U.S. Embassy in Haiti said in an alert Monday that it was “aware of gang-led efforts to block travel to and from Port-au-Prince which may include armed violence, and disruptions to roads, ports and airports.”

The alert also said the U.S. Embassy was “aware of a temporary pause in operations at the Toussaint L'Ouverture airport.”

In addition to the gang violence that has clung to Haiti, the country has never fully recovered from a devastating earthquake in 2010.

Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press.

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