Haiti’s presidential transitional council, which has governed the Caribbean nation for nearly two years, on Saturday handed power to US-backed Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime, after failing to curb rampant gang violence.
The transfer of authority from the nine-member council, created in April 2024, to the 54-year-old businessman took place under tight security amid Haiti’s unstable political climate.
“Our watchwords are clear: security, political dialogue, elections and stability. Mr Prime Minister, in this historic moment, I know that you are gauging the depth of the responsibility you are taking on for the country,” said council president Laurent Saint-Cyr.
Fils-Aime now holds exclusive executive power in Haiti. He faces the daunting task of organising elections with the support of a deeply polarised political establishment.
Haiti — the poorest country in the Americas — has long been plagued by deadly gang violence, with frequent murders, rapes and kidnappings. The country has not held elections since 2016 and has been without a president since Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in July 2021.
Gangs now control 90 per cent of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and killed nearly 6,000 people in 2025, according to the United Nations. About 1.4 million people—roughly 10 per cent of the population—have been displaced by the violence, and nearly half of all Haitians face acute food insecurity, including 1.2 million children under five.
Amid fears of a political vacuum, the United States, which sent three warships to Haiti this week, backed Fils-Aime. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasised “the importance of his continued tenure as Haiti’s prime minister to combat terrorist gangs and stabilise the island.”
Washington has also sanctioned two council members and a minister, accusing them of supporting gangs.
Haitian police have conducted a large-scale offensive against gangs in central Port-au-Prince in recent weeks, destroying the home of notorious gang leader Jimmy Cherizier, also known as “Barbecue”.
