Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigns

April 25 (UPI) -- Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry turned in his resignation on Thursday to make room for a new government to approve a security force accepted by the United Nations.

Finance Minister Michel Patrick Boisvert, who has run the country while Henry has been in self-exile in Puerto Rico, was appointed as his replacement as interim prime minister.

"We have served the nation in difficult times. I thank everyone who had the courage to face such challenges with me," Henry wrote in his resignation letter, according to CNN, adding that it was time for him to step down, "given the state of current affairs."

Boisvert will now work with a coalition of Haitian leaders, many Haiti supporters in the Caribbean Community and Common Market, and the United States along with local political parties, faith and business leaders to form a new government.

"Haiti, our country, is at a crossroads in the search for solutions to overcome this multidimensional political crisis, that has lasted for so long, and the consequences of which are detrimental to the population, to property, and both public and private infrastructures," he said at a swearing-in ceremony.

Haiti's government has been without a leader since President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in 2021. Henry became the de facto president but some in Haiti were suspicious of his possible involvement in Moise's death.

Paramilitary groups, which control most of Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince, fought Henry's return and forced him into exile. Henry said in March he would resign as soon as a new government was established.

Once a transitional council names a new prime minister and cabinet, it will run the government until a new president is chosen by Feb. 7, 2026.