Haiti: 'Not so much a civil war, not even collapse of a state, but the creation of a criminal state'

Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced Tuesday that he would resign once a transitional presidential council is created, bowing to international pressure to make way for new leadership in the country overwhelmed by violent gangs. Henry made the announcement hours after Caribbean leaders and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met in Jamaica to discuss a solution to halt Haiti’s spiraling crisis and agreed to a joint proposal to establish a transitional council. Henry has been unable to enter Haiti because the violence forced the closure of its main international airport. He arrived in Puerto Rico a week ago, after being barred from landing in the Dominican Republic, where officials said that he lacked a required flight plan. Dominican officials also closed the airspace to flights to and from Haiti. It was not immediately clear who would be chosen to lead Haiti out of the crisis in which heavily armed gangs have burned police stations, attacked the main airport and raided two of the country’s biggest prisons. The raids resulted in the release of more than 4,000 inmates. Scores of people have been killed, and more than 15,000 are homeless after fleeing neighborhoods raided by gangs. Food and water are dwindling as vendors who sell to impoverished Haitians run out of goods. The main port in the capital of Port-au-Prince remains closed, stranding dozens of containers with critical supplies. As Haiti's prime minister resigns amid violent upheaval initiated by violent gangs, Delano D'Souza offers us the very latest. Then, for in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective on Haiti's uncertain future amid the impoverished Caribbean nation's on-going turmoil, FRANCE 24's Nadia Massih is joined by Dr. Christopher Sabatini, Senior Fellow for Latin America at Chatham House.