(Reuters) -Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry has resigned, his office said on Thursday, as a transitional council prepares to lead the country aiming to bring back tranquility amid the havoc caused by widespread gang violence.
Henry’s finance minister, Patrick Boisvert, will lead as interim prime minister, according to the nation’s official gazette.
In a letter dated Wednesday but uploaded to social media on Thursday, Henry said his administration had “served the nation in difficult times.”
Haiti’s outgoing government formalized a transition process two weeks ago, a month after Henry announced his resignation while stranded outside the country as alliances of heavily armed gangs threatened to completely take over the capital.
Gang violence, which has worsened for years, escalated earlier this year. More than 2,500 people were killed or injured from January through March, up 53% from the last three months of 2023, recent data from the the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) shows.
(Reporting by Kylie Madry and Valentine Hilaire)
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