Haiti's transitional council hands power to US-backed PM
The Transitional Presidential Council (CPT), Haiti’s governing body, dissolved and appointed Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime as the acting head of the Caribbean nation.
A favourite of Washington, the newly designated head of state begins his renewed rule amid severe political and social turmoil following the end of the transitional governing council.
The CPT was installed in November 2024 and was intended to bring stability and peace to gang-violence-plagued Haiti through a nine-member governing council and a prime minister.
On Saturday, the short-lived political body was dismantled after failing to meet expectations and the needs of the Haitian people, as political instability and gang-related violence continue unabated across the country.
Haiti’s domestic criminal organisations have exerted control over the country’s major cities through extreme violence.
According to the UN, the Viv Ansanm gang coalition continues to dominate nearly 90 percent of the capital, Port-au-Prince. By September 2025, criminal groups had killed at least 4,384 people between January and September of that year.
They also wounded 1,899 individuals and kidnapped 491 others.
Massacres, kidnappings, torture, forced recruitment, and sexual violence have been the primary means through which gangs have maintained control over Haiti’s metropolitan areas.
‘Corrupt politicians’
The CPT also contributed to armed violence against the civilian population by authorising aerial drone attacks, which have killed at least 494 people and injured 418 others.
While the majority of the victims were alleged gang members, the casualties also included 15 residents killed, among them seven children between the ages of eight and 13.
Violence and political instability in Haiti have worsened since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, who was murdered at the presidential residence in 2021 by an armed commando of Haitian-American citizens and Colombian nationals.
The group is said to have conspired in Florida to abduct Moise and install a former Supreme Court justice as president. Fils-Aime was sworn in as prime minister in November 2024 and has enjoyed US backing.
In January, the CPT moved to remove Fils-Aime from office, drawing the attention of President Donald Trump’s administration.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio vouched for Fils-Aime and warned of a “steep cost” for what he described as “corrupt politicians,” whom he accused of supporting gangs, while urging the CPT to dissolve on Saturday.
Four days ago, the US Department of War deployed three warships to the bay of Port-au-Prince as part of an elite operation reportedly aimed at combating drug trafficking organisations and “ensuring a safer and more prosperous Haiti.”
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