Haitian PM tenders resignation after Jamaica talks

KINGSTON, Jamaica (Reuters) -Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry has tendered his resignation as head of the Caribbean nation, the leader of a regional body said on Monday, an unelected role the 74-year-old neurosurgeon held since 2021.

"We acknowledge his resignation upon the establishment of a transitional presidential council and naming of an interim prime minister," said Caribbean Community chair Irfaan Ali, also the president of Guyana, thanking Henry for his service to Haiti.

Henry traveled to Kenya late last month to secure its leadership of a United Nations-backed international security mission to help police fight armed gangs, but a drastic escalation of violence in the capital Port-au-Prince during his absence left him stranded in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.

Henry's resignation comes as regional leaders met earlier on Monday in nearby Jamaica to discuss the framework for a political transition, which the U.S. urged last week to be "expedited" while gangs called for Henry to step down.

Regional officials have been engaged in talks involving members of Haiti's political parties, private sector, civil society and religious groups aimed at establishing the transition council that would pave the way to the first elections since 2016.

Henry, who many Haitians consider corrupt, had repeatedly postponed elections saying security must first be restored.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had earlier on Monday called for the creation of a "broad-based, inclusive, independent presidential college".

This council would be tasked with meeting the "immediate needs" of Haitian people, enabling the security mission's deployment and creating security conditions necessary for free elections, Blinken said.

(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis in Kingston, Steven Aristil and Harold Isaac in Port-au-Prince, Robertson S. Henry in Kingstown, Brendan O'Boyle and Sarah Morland in Mexico City; Additional reporting by Simon Lewis in Washington, Brendan O'Brien in Chicago and Michelle Nichols in New York; Editing by Bernadette Baum, Chizu Nomiyama, Aurora Ellis, Bill Berkrot, Richard Chang and Lincoln Feast.)