Ex-Haiti coup leader Guy Philippe calls for PM to resign, wants presidency amid violent unrest

Guy Philippe, a figure who played a key role in orchestrating a coup in Haiti in 2004 and recently returned to the Caribbean Island after serving a prison sentence in the US, called for the resignation of the country’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry on Friday and said he wanted to become president.

Haiti has been grappling with months of violence, pushing the government to the brink of collapse. Powerful gangs have been exerting growing influence, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Henry, who is currently outside the country and appears to be either unable or unwilling to return, exacerbating the political turmoil.

“He should resign,” Philippe, a 56-year-old former police chief, said in an interview with Reuters over Zoom from Haiti. “I think he should stay where he is now … and let Haitians decide their fate.”

Henry’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Henry left Haiti last week to secure Kenya’s leadership for a long-delayed U.N.-backed security mission he first requested in 2022 to help fight the gangs. He is believed to still be in Puerto Rico, where he arrived on Tuesday.

The government extended on Thursday a state of emergency around the capital Port-au-Prince as the violence forced thousands to flee their homes and the main airport to close.

Authorities first announced the state of emergency on Sunday after armed gangs broke thousands of inmates out of prison.