Haiti council fires prime minister, boosting chaos
Prime Minister Garry Conille was replaced with Alix Didier Fils-Aimé


What happened
Haiti's transitional ruling council fired interim Prime Minister Garry Conille Sunday and replaced him with Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, a businessman. Conille, a longtime civil servant, was installed in June to work with the new council to stabilize Haiti and hold the country's first elections since 2016. He called his ouster illegitimate.
Who said what
The dismissal decision was "taken outside any legal and constitutional framework," Conille told Haitians in an open letter, adding he plans to "challenge any illegal action motivated by narrow political interests that only add to the suffering of our people." Haiti's constitution allows parliament to fire a prime minister, but the country's National Assembly has been empty since early 2023. There has been no president since the unsolved assassination of Jovenel Moïse in 2021.
The nine-member council, drawn from a spectrum of Haitian political and civil groups, has "long been at odds with Conille and mired in political infighting," The Wall Street Journal said. Conille recently refused a request from the council to reshuffle his Cabinet, The New York Times said, but the "last straw appeared to be" his efforts to push out three council members accused by anti-corruption investigators last month of seeking $750,000 in bribes from a government bank director to secure his job.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
Public trust in the U.S.-backed transitional council was already "waning" as Haiti remains in the "grip of gang violence" and an increasingly "dire humanitarian crisis," The Washington Post said. The new turmoil has "raised fears" the "heavily armed gangs" will "exploit the political chaos to sow even more mayhem."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
October 19 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's editorial cartoons include Pete Hegseth and the press, an absence of government, and George Washington crossing the Delaware
-
A little-visited Indian Ocean archipelago
The Week Recommends The paradise of the Union of the Comoros features beautiful beaches, colourful coral reefs and lush forests
-
AI: is the bubble about to burst?
In the Spotlight Stock market ever-more reliant on tech stocks whose value relies on assumptions of continued growth and easy financing
-
DOJ indicts John Bolton over classified files
Speed Read Continuing the trend of going after his political enemies, Trump prosecutes his former national security adviser
-
Trump, Putin set summit as Zelenskyy lands in DC
Speed Read Trump and Putin have agreed to meet in Budapest soon to discuss ending the war in Ukraine
-
Courts deal setbacks to Trump’s Chicago operations
Speed Read President Donald Trump cannot deploy the National Guard in Illinois
-
Pentagon reporters turn in badges after refusing rules
Speed Read They refused to sign a restrictive new press policy imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
-
Supreme Court points to gutting Voting Rights Act
speed read States would no longer be required to consider race when drawing congressional maps
-
Trump says he authorized covert CIA ops in Venezuela
Speed Read He is also considering military strikes inside the country
-
‘Vile, racist’ leaked chats roil Young Republicans
Speed Read Leaders of Young Republican groups made racist, antisemitic and violent comments in private chats
-
Trump ties $20B Argentina bailout to Milei votes
speed read Trump will boost Argentina’s economy — if the country’s right-wing president wins upcoming elections