A rare and sharply worded rebuke from Caribbean leaders has placed Haiti’s transitional leadership under renewed regional scrutiny, as efforts to remove caretaker Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils Aimé draw condemnation just days before the current governing arrangement expires. The intervention underscores growing concern that political infighting is undermining already fragile attempts to stabilise the country.

In a statement issued Tuesday from its Georgetown based secretariat, the Caribbean Community said it was alarmed by moves within the Haitian Transitional Presidential Council to dismiss the prime minister barely two weeks before the council’s mandate ends on Feb. 7. Leaders described the timing as unacceptable and warned that the manoeuvre risked worsening instability at a critical juncture.

CARICOM aligned itself with the United States and other Western partners in cautioning council members against actions that could further unsettle Haiti, where heavily armed gangs continue to dominate swathes of territory. Recent incidents have included gunfire directed at approaching aircraft, sustained terror in urban neighbourhoods and violent confrontations with police and the military.

“The current impasse within the Haitian transitional presidential council, following the inconclusive efforts of some members to dismiss the prime minister, renders more complex an already fraught governance transition process,” the leaders said. They added that Haitians were enduring “unimaginable violence and deprivation,” calling the situation unacceptable and urging stakeholders to set aside differences in favour of consensus.

The statement characterised the turmoil as internal conflict “taking place at the highest levels of the Haitian state at this delicate point in time.” Leaders stressed that calm and measured decision making was urgently required, arguing that fragmentation only strengthens the grip of criminal gangs. CARICOM said its priority remained the restoration of political stability, security and peace, conditions it said were necessary for elections, economic recovery and sustainable development.

Haiti is attempting to organise its first elections in nearly 11 years while security forces, supported by personnel from several countries including a contingent led by Kenyan police officers, seek to reclaim territory seized by gangs.

International pressure has intensified. Late last week, the United States State Department revoked the visas of two unidentified council members accused of undermining the council’s work and of alleged links to criminal groups. “These actions are being taken due to the TPC members’ involvement in the operation of gangs and other criminal organizations in Haiti,” spokesman Thomas Pigott said. Washington declared that Haitians had grown weary of violence and political infighting and vowed to pursue accountability.

For nearly three years, CARICOM has engaged Haiti through a three member eminent persons group led by former St. Lucian prime minister Kenny Anthony. Leaders reiterated that the group remains available to assist. “CARICOM calls on all Haitian stakeholders to put the future of their people and country above all else, and to act responsibly, and with urgency and patriotism,” the statement said.

Haiti’s crisis deepened following the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, one of the last elected officials in office, leaving a vacuum that continues to shape the nation’s struggle for stability.

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