Joseph Jouthe resigned after a year without concrete results in the fight against banditry, which saw the resumption of phenomena such as massacres and kidnappings and the failure of several police operations against gangs, where at least five police officers have been killed.

Foreign Minister Claude Joseph was head of the ministerial cabinet, where he kept most ministers, although he replaced some key ones such as the minister of Interior and Territorial Communities.

These changes aim to curb the insecurity avalanche of the past few days, whose most high-profile case is the kidnapping of seven clergymen and their families last Sunday, two of them French, which led Paris to activate its crisis unit.

Moïse himself admitted the Executive’s inefficency when dealing with this phenomenon, which has resulted in 157 kidnappings in the first three months of 2020, some of them even broadcast live on social media, and armed gangs and attacks in vulnerable neighborhoods are increasing.

‘The resignation of the Government, which I accepted, will make it possible to address the glaring problem of insecurity and continue discussions with a view to reaching the consensus necessary for the political and institutional stability of our country,’ the president tweeted.

To Jean Jores, member of the Haitian Platform to Advocate Alternative Development, the situation is out of control and its protraction is unsustainable. ‘Once again the armed gangs that work for the status quo are using violence to scare the population, to prevent people from rebelling against power,’ the sociologist told Prensa Latina.

The prime minister was replaced at a time of political tension in many opposition and civil society sectors for whom Moïse has ‘usurped’ the presidency since Feb.7, when they claim his constitutional mandate expired.

mh/aph/Orbe